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olliyeen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the best book I have ever read. I say this without hyperbole. I have never had so much meaning put into so few words. The queer subtext was rolling over the pages, without a single recognizable word of queer vernacular. It was achingly beautiful
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Medical content
jimio's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Unnervingly prescient for something published in 1940. Carson McCullers was only 23 years old when she wrote this and it’s filled with a tender wisdom that recalls those other great writers of so-called gothic fiction – fans of William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, or Cormac McCarthy should read this if they haven’t already.
Stirring up themes that still linger today – BLM, the 1%, fascism in the US, and even the fluidity of gender – this is a powerful book of muscular prose that deserves a modern audience.
Stirring up themes that still linger today – BLM, the 1%, fascism in the US, and even the fluidity of gender – this is a powerful book of muscular prose that deserves a modern audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming and Child abuse
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
1939, a small town in the South of the USA. A handful of characters lend us their perspectives - a bar owner, a young teenager, a black doctor, a newcomer with an alcohol issue, and the mute employee of a jewellery. Together, they draw a complete portrait of this average town in all its intricacies and daily struggles, while each one battles their own demons and nurtures their own longing for something more.
I have to admit it took me a long, long time to get into this book, so much so that I kept wondering if I was right to keep reading for the first 150 pages. Something in the language made it hard for me to read with any fluidity, although there weren't particularly complex words or idioms specific to the time this book was written. Then, without my noticing it, I got attached to these very flawed characters and started to care. They are very different from each other by the author does a spectacular job of giving each one a voice. I can't speak to the disability representation. I'm honestly not sure how well that is done, especially in the first pages where it intersects with fat representation.
On the whole, though the story and characters are rooted in their times, this book has a timeless quality to it given the number of themes that are still sadly relevant today (see the content warnings). There are some really harrowing passages, but they all are quite short and the changes in points of view makes it easier to bear. All in all it wasn't an easy book to read for several reasons, but I'm glad I did. Definitely not a favourite, but one I can tick off my classics' list.
I have to admit it took me a long, long time to get into this book, so much so that I kept wondering if I was right to keep reading for the first 150 pages. Something in the language made it hard for me to read with any fluidity, although there weren't particularly complex words or idioms specific to the time this book was written. Then, without my noticing it, I got attached to these very flawed characters and started to care. They are very different from each other by the author does a spectacular job of giving each one a voice. I can't speak to the disability representation. I'm honestly not sure how well that is done, especially in the first pages where it intersects with fat representation.
On the whole, though the story and characters are rooted in their times, this book has a timeless quality to it given the number of themes that are still sadly relevant today (see the content warnings). There are some really harrowing passages, but they all are quite short and the changes in points of view makes it easier to bear. All in all it wasn't an easy book to read for several reasons, but I'm glad I did. Definitely not a favourite, but one I can tick off my classics' list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality