The Golden Apples, By Eudora Welty

Golden, delicious, and plenty to chew on

Reviewed,David Evans
Saturday 20 August 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Eudora Welty is perhaps best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Optimist's Daughter (1972), but for many The Golden Apples (1949) is her masterpiece.

A collection of interrelated short stories set in the fictional town of Morgana, Mississippi, the book never shirks from the social ills – racism, alcoholism and poverty – that scarred life in the American South during the early 20th century. But it is her vivid evocations of nature that linger. Welty's sentences, like her compatriot Faulkner's, often have a gnarled, opaque quality. Those who press on through the dense thicket are rewarded with images of sudden, limpid clarity: a swarm of bees forms a "funnelled shadow"; butterflies' wings flash "like duelers' swords".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in