The Neon Wilderness

“Once more I have been impressed by Algren’s talent, his probity, and his command of a tough language that he transforms into a raw and bleeding poetry.” —The Nation

“Mr. Algren, boy are you good—one of the two best authors in America.” —Ernest Hemingway

“Since the publication of The Neon Wilderness … Nelson Algren has been acknowledged as a master of that American Realism touched with poetry, which attempts to give voice to the insulted and injured. He is a philosopher of deprivation, a moral force of considerable dimensions and a wonderful user of the language.” —Donald Barthelme

“When I first read The Neon Wilderness I was knocked out and the funny thing is, as I re-read it I was KO’d again. That’s the thing: Nelson’s stories are part of our lasting literature. They don’t fade away.” —Studs Terkel, from the Afterword

“Algren’s short stories are now generally acknowledged to be literary triumphs.” —New York Times

Nelson Algren (1909-1981)

Nelson Algren, described as both “one of the most neglected American writers and also one of the best loved,” lived his writing philosophy: “literature is made upon any occasion that a challenge is put to the legal apparatus by conscience in touch with humanity.” Born in Detroit on March 28, 1909, and primarily based in Chicago, Algren’s literary career began with his first short fiction published in Story magazine in 1933.

His debut novel, Somebody in Boots, was released in 1935. In 1942, he completed his second novel and enlisted in the war effort. Despite his military rank, his novel Never Come Morning achieved significant acclaim, eventually selling over a million copies, with Jean-Paul Sartre translating its French edition.

Algren solidified his place in American literature with his 1947 short story collection, The Neon Wilderness. His most significant novel, The Man with the Golden Arm, published in 1949, was the inaugural winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in March 1950.

Further works include the prose poem Chicago: City on the Make (1951) and A Walk on the Wild Side (1956), a reimagining of his first novel. Algren also penned two travel books, Who Lost an American? and Notes from a Sea Voyage, and a collection of fiction and nonfiction, The Last Carousel, appeared in 1973.

Algren passed away on May 9, 1981, shortly after being appointed a fellow of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Posthumously published works include his last novel, The Devil’s Stocking (1983), based on the life of Hurricane Carter, and Nonconformity: Writing on Writing (1996), an essay on the craft of writing. In 2009, Entrapment and Other Writings brought together previously unpublished works, including early short stories and an unfinished novel fragment.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.