AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM

The Fires of Spring 
By James A. Michener

Genre: Novel

Synopsis:

THE ATLANTIC
David Harper was an orphan, loney and impoverished. But his longing to embrace the world that abandoned him was stronger than the harsh realities. And even though he's a con man and petty thief at a carnival, he still dreams. For it was there that David learned about love and about women—all of whom taught him the riches of himself. 
Here is a rich segment of American life—a magic blend of longing and wisdom, saltiness, simplicity, and compassion.

Analysis:

       This novel was published in 1949 and was considered to be autobiographical because the story in the text was about the author's life. It tells the story of David Harper who is Michener  presumably. James A. Michener relates the story of an orphan in America during the first thirty years of the twentieth century. Even though Michener wasn't exactly young when he wrote The Fires of Spring, he started writing at the age of 40 and published his book at 42, he could still remember vividly what it had been like and nowhere in all his succeeding work was he able to recapture the first ferment of youth as he did here. This book gives a new awareness of Michener's earliest passions, his painful strivings and motivations as a young man, and his often lonely artistic aspirations and observations. It also takes back to pre-war times, to the early part of the American Century,the part that was stifled due to depression and national disunity.