![]() ![]() Forrest Gump tells the story of a simple-minded innocent whose life intersects the critical historical moments that occur during the tumultuous period of American history that includes the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, and America’s involvement in Vietnam. Early reviews of the book were generally favorable, although more than one reviewer stated that the novel lacked depth in both character and plot. Although it was published in 1986, the book was not well known until it was adapted for the film of the same name in 1994. In 1985, Groom returned to Mobile and began writing Forrest Gump. Only focuses on the life of a sheepdog of the same name and his relationship with his new family. This novel was adapted for television in 1986. In 1980, Groom received the Best Fiction Award from the Southern Library Association for As Summers Die, which focuses on a lawyer in small-town Louisiana and his immersion into the realities of segregation and greed when oil is discovered on a black sharecroppers’ land. Better Times Than These, written from the perspective of a southern writer who reflects upon the horrific experiences of Company Bravo, received critical acclaim when it was published. soldiers who served in Vietnam and their experiences after the war. Conversations with the Enemy, a work of creative nonfiction, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.īetter Times Than These and Conversations with the Enemy both draw on Groom’s own experiences and focus on the lives of U.S. ![]() During this period, he also co-wrote Conversations with the Enemy: The Story of PFC Robert Garwood (1983) with fellow journalist Duncan Spencer. ![]() In 1976, he quit journalism and began writing novels full-time, publishing three in close succession: Better Times than These (1978), As Summers Die (1980), and Only (1984). In 1969 Winston Groom married his first wife, Ruth Noble. Groom followed this advice, and in New York, he moved in the city’s literary circles, encountering among others fellow Alabamian Truman Capote. While at the Star, Groom met southern author Willie Morris, who encouraged him to go to New York to pursue his writing career. Upon his discharge, Groom settled in Washington, D.C., and began working as a reporter for The Washington Star, covering police and court matters and later writing a column. ![]() During his military service, Groom achieved the rank of captain. Army (1965-1967), mostly with the Fourth Infantry Division, completing a tour of duty in Vietnam (1966-1967), an experience that had a profound effect on both his fiction and nonfiction. While working as the editor of a literary magazine at UA, Groom decided against his ambition of becoming a lawyer and instead decided to become a writer.Ī member of ROTC at the university, Groom served in the U.S. He attended University Military School in Mobile and then entered the University of Alabama (UA), where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A number of Groom’s novels draw on his experiences in Vietnam, and in his later years, he turned to writing historical nonfiction.īorn in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 1944, Groom grew up in Alabama. Long-time Mobilian Winston Groom (1944-2020) is best known for his novel Forrest Gump, a work in the tradition of southern fiction that became a cultural phenomenon after it was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the same name. ![]()
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