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the Complete Review
the complete review - prose



Tender Buttons

by
Gertrude Stein


general information | our review | links | about the author

To purchase Tender Buttons


Title: Tender Buttons
Author: Gertrude Stein
Genre: Prose
Written: 1912
Length: 43 pages
Availability: Tender Buttons - US
Tender Buttons - US - Dover edition (inexpensive)
Also in: Writings 1903-1932 - US (recommended)
Tender Buttons - UK
Tender Buttons - UK - Dover edition (inexpensive)
Also in: Writings 1903-1932 - UK (recommended)
Tender Buttons - Canada
Tender Buttons - Zarte knöpft - Deutschland
  • Available in Writings 1903-1932 (see our review).

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Our Assessment:

B : interesting linguistic games and points of view.

See our review for fuller assessment.



The complete review's Review:

       Tender Buttons offers much of what we associate with the modernist Gertrude Stein of "rose is a rose is a rose" fame. Here Stein explores Objects, Food, and Rooms. Objects offers numerous short pieces ostensibly on various objects, Food involves longer "Studies in Description", and Rooms is one long section of description.
       What is one to make of it ? What one will. It is immediately clear what one is getting into. In the first section, A carafe, that is a blind glass Stein writes that it is:

All this and not ordinary, not unordered in not resembling. The difference is spreading.
       And it only gets more ... complex from there. Yet there is some method to this seeming madness, and some beauty in the pleasure of the language. This is not your normal read -- not a pleasant fiction, not even clear descriptions. Stein forces ideas and different ways of seeing on her readers. It can be off-putting (especially in these impatient times, as such writing requires considerable more patience than most books), but there is something to it.
       "The teasing is tender and trying and thoughtful," seems to be a fine summary of the book. Not yet placing such a great emphasis on repetition there is a great deal of variety here. Much of it might strike one as bizarre (Salad: "It is a winning cake"), but Stein has a fine ear and a good sense of humour and this slim selection certainly has its enjoyable elements. A different kind of read it can certainly be recommended -- though readers should be aware of what they are getting themselves into.

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Links:

Tender Buttons: Gertrude Stein:
  • Other works by Gertrude Stein under review: Other books of interest under review:

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    About the Author:

           American author Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) is best known for works such as The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and Three Lives. She was an influential literary figure who spent much of her life in Europe.

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