Heaven's My Destination: A Novel

by Thornton Wilder

Overview

“If John Steinbeck’s mighty Grapes of Wrath is the tragic novel of the Great Depression, then Heaven’s My Destination is its comic masterpiece. —J.D. McClatchy

A hilarious tale about goodness in a fallen world, Heaven’s My Destination introduces George Marvin Brush, one of Thornton Wilder's most memorable characters. Brush, a traveling textbook salesman, is a fervent religious convert who is determined to lead a good life. With sad and sometimes hilarious consequences, his travels take him through smoking cars, bawdy houses, banks, and campgrounds from Texas to Illinois—and into the soul of Depression-era America itself.

This special edition includes an updated afterword by Wilder’s nephew, Tappan Wilder, with illuminating material about the author and book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062990211
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

THORNTON WILDER (1897–1975) is the only writer to win Pulitzer Prizes for both drama (Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth) and fiction (The Bridge of San Luis Rey). He collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock on Shadow of a Doubt, hiked the Alps with the heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney, received a Bronze Star for his service in World War II, and was credited with discovering Orson Welles. He was also a much-loved teacher, letter-writer (especially with Gertrude Stein), and public speaker—in four languages. Hello, Dolly! is based on his play The Matchmaker. Learn more about his extraordinary life and work at thorntonwilder.com.

Editorial Reviews

Brilliant and sharp. . . . Wilder’s best novel.” — Edmund Wilson, The New Republic

“Here is a book that provides total pleasure—a picaresque contemporary Candide or Don Quixote, written with both affection and a gimlet eye. . . . It reads like a loving comedy.”  — New Yorker

"One of the most American books ever written. . . . Thornton Wilder's best, and most unexpected, book." — Wilfrid Sheed

“A good sardonic etching of this most godless of American ages.” — Commonweal

From the Publisher

Here is a book that provides total pleasure—a picaresque contemporary Candide or Don Quixote, written with both affection and a gimlet eye. . . . It reads like a loving comedy.” 

New Yorker

Brilliant and sharp. . . . Wilder’s best novel.

Edmund Wilson

A good sardonic etching of this most godless of American ages.

Commonweal

"One of the most American books ever written. . . . Thornton Wilder's best, and most unexpected, book."

Wilfrid Sheed

Here is a book that provides total pleasure—a picaresque contemporary Candide or Don Quixote, written with both affection and a gimlet eye. . . . It reads like a loving comedy.” 

New Yorker

Witty, shrewd, tough and rough, bawdy and sentimental....Wilder is completely in love with the moral aspects of human nature, whether he finds them in bawd houses, court rooms, country stores, or hay lofts where young ladies are being ruined by accident.

H.S. Canby