The Tattooed Countess by Carl Van Vechten

Earlier this week, I was really excited because I was planning to do a review on Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos which I was reading for my Modern American Fiction class. Then I realized that to do a review, I would actually have to have finished the book. That didn't happen. But I can tell you that if you admire character development and don't worry about plot, you might like this book. Unfortunately, I think that having to read it for class kind of ruined it for me.
On the other hand, the same class has introduced me to an author that I would never have picked up otherwise. One of the professors here at school was the executor of Carl Van Vechten's estate, so we have a ton of stuff in the archives from him. Now, for the record, I know almost nothing about Modern American fiction. When I was told to find a book to write a paper on, I had no idea where to start. Since I work in the archives, I thought, well, I'll read something by Carl Van Vechten, totally expecting to be disappointed. Not disappointed at all. The Tattooed Countess (A Romantic Novel With a Happy Ending) was actually really great. It is about the Countess Ella Nattatorini who returns to her Iowa hometown after her husband dies and her young lover leaves her. I thought that this book was going to be really depressing, because most modern fiction tends to be, but it wasn't. Van Vechten took a very light look at a woman who was trying to find her place in a town that did not understand her. It was even funny at times, sometimes almost satirical of modern fiction. And it actually did have a sort of happy ending. I really loved it. Especially how he worked the classic Fates in as two old women who sit on their porches and rock while commenting on the town. Not really a review, but give me a break, I'm new at this and I couldn't find a synopsis anywhere.
NaNoWriMo starts in a little more than two days!! So excited. My roommate signed up as well, so now I have someone to suffer with in the house. This is going to be fun. <3