chaalm_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sophward's review against another edition
5.0
I've been waiting to read this book since purchasing it and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter last year, and it did not disappoint. McCullers has created with great tenderness a story about a young girl struggling to find her place in the world who falls in love with the strangest of things - the upcoming wedding of her brother and his bride-to-be. Her passion, desperation and loneliness are almost painful to read at times, but only because they are so easily related to by anyone who was once 12 years old and full to the brim with burning hope and frustration with the world; more specifically, I believe, to a reader who was once a 12 year old girl. Frankie's chaotic personality is balanced with the ever-insightful Berenice, the family's African American housekeeper and one of Frankie's only friends - along with her six year old cousin, John Henry. The three of them provide for some of the most touching and somewhat philosophical scenes I've ever read as they pass their evenings in the hazy warmth of a Southern summer. Definitely a must read, and I can't wait to get to more of McCullers' work.
swfountaine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
kerryp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
5.0
Carson McCullers. First time I encountered her was reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (and yes, I was wildly impressed by the fact that she published that at age 23). This next novel has been on my to-read list for ages. Saw it on a bookshelf and snatched it up.
For those who are familiar with The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, you may find some similar elements. While not by any means "retelling" this story in The Member of the Wedding, McCullers does focus the story on a preteen girl in a small southern town, negotiating her role in the world, her womanhood, her geographic frustrations and colossal ambitions (both heroines manifest an appreciation for music). They are also both positioned in a relationship with a younger boy and with slightly un-involved parents.
Frankie, a.k.a. F. Jasmine or Frances, is a relic of any childhood. Though McCullers pins her on a timeline during the second world war, her plans and ideals, her inflated self perception, her love for and indignation with her caretaker, her juvenile reactions to situations, and her sophomoric attempts to be "sophisticated" all point to the lost age of growing up, the years straddling childhood and adulthood. Reading this novel, I chuckled at or was horrified by some of the things Frankie would say or do, and other times, she would be bringing forth a memory of mine. This is something Carson McCullers has carefully crafted, an almost tangible piece of any human past that one cannot simply dismiss.
For those who are familiar with The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, you may find some similar elements. While not by any means "retelling" this story in The Member of the Wedding, McCullers does focus the story on a preteen girl in a small southern town, negotiating her role in the world, her womanhood, her geographic frustrations and colossal ambitions (both heroines manifest an appreciation for music). They are also both positioned in a relationship with a younger boy and with slightly un-involved parents.
Frankie, a.k.a. F. Jasmine or Frances, is a relic of any childhood. Though McCullers pins her on a timeline during the second world war, her plans and ideals, her inflated self perception, her love for and indignation with her caretaker, her juvenile reactions to situations, and her sophomoric attempts to be "sophisticated" all point to the lost age of growing up, the years straddling childhood and adulthood. Reading this novel, I chuckled at or was horrified by some of the things Frankie would say or do, and other times, she would be bringing forth a memory of mine. This is something Carson McCullers has carefully crafted, an almost tangible piece of any human past that one cannot simply dismiss.
ombudsman's review against another edition
5.0
something tragic and heavy is in the air of this book - and it's not an event, exactly (though the war looms ominously and the death of berenice's first husband, and the bad decisions she's made since, are ever-present), but the limitations placed on these characters. even frankie's attempts to escape society-as-she-knows-it (by taking on another identity) are ruinous and tragic and eventually fail. nothing turns out right in this book - though frankie chooses conformity and therefore happiness, the events of the book prior to this seem to confirm that this will not happen. not yet, at least.
joh17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wonderful. Beautiful and sad
kiriamarin's review against another edition
“We are homesick most for the places we have never known.”
Este não é um trecho desta obra mas sim do clássico "O coração é um caçador solitário principal e mais conhecido livro de Carson McCullers. Uma obra favorita que foi um divisor de águas pra minha vida de leitora.Que também pode se referir a sua jovem protagonista :Frankie-Jazmine-Frances, que se assemelha a "Mick Kelly", com uma maturidade e angústia além dos seus jovens anos. Frankie, uma menina tomboy de 12 anos,que vive a pubescencia precoce,dum verão monótono ,deslocada no tempo e lugar, no seu corpo na alma,uma jaula invisível. Tudo está prestes a acabar ,tudo muda, tudo fica pra trás, mas ela quer partir, pra onde ? Não sabe...
A trama se passa em 1943 tempos bélicos, de incerteza,a sociedade em transformação . A estória apresenta uma romance de formação com ambiguidade sexual ,tratada sutilmente aqui com referências a personagens que mudam de sexo que hoje seriam chamadas de trans. Que ousadia da McCuller em escrever do que nem se imaginava ou entendia,mas sentia.O mote da trama gira em torno de um casamento, algo que liga duas pessoas,tradicionalmente homem e uma mulher,em "uma só carne".Frankie torna-se obcecada e fascinada por este evento,essa união de corpos, sacramento espiritual,como se pudesse juntar também esses "eus" dentro de si.
Pobre Frankie ,querendo sair da infância a todo custo,quando são os melhores e maus felizes da vida de uma pessoa .
A escrita é simples e melancólica, conseguiu evocar minhas lembranças da infância ,de veroes na casa de avós, quando a empolgação acaba e se quer estar em outro lugar , com aquele momento revelador de ruptura do fim da infancia e do início do tédio da vida adulta que não se pode escapar.
Obs: os dialogos entre Berenice e Frankie são tão profundos maduros e reveladores , são as melhores do livro , duas "outsiders"
Este não é um trecho desta obra mas sim do clássico "O coração é um caçador solitário principal e mais conhecido livro de Carson McCullers. Uma obra favorita que foi um divisor de águas pra minha vida de leitora.Que também pode se referir a sua jovem protagonista :Frankie-Jazmine-Frances, que se assemelha a "Mick Kelly", com uma maturidade e angústia além dos seus jovens anos. Frankie, uma menina tomboy de 12 anos,que vive a pubescencia precoce,dum verão monótono ,deslocada no tempo e lugar, no seu corpo na alma,uma jaula invisível. Tudo está prestes a acabar ,tudo muda, tudo fica pra trás, mas ela quer partir, pra onde ? Não sabe...
A trama se passa em 1943 tempos bélicos, de incerteza,a sociedade em transformação . A estória apresenta uma romance de formação com ambiguidade sexual ,tratada sutilmente aqui com referências a personagens que mudam de sexo que hoje seriam chamadas de trans. Que ousadia da McCuller em escrever do que nem se imaginava ou entendia,mas sentia.O mote da trama gira em torno de um casamento, algo que liga duas pessoas,tradicionalmente homem e uma mulher,em "uma só carne".Frankie torna-se obcecada e fascinada por este evento,essa união de corpos, sacramento espiritual,como se pudesse juntar também esses "eus" dentro de si.
Pobre Frankie ,querendo sair da infância a todo custo,quando são os melhores e maus felizes da vida de uma pessoa .
A escrita é simples e melancólica, conseguiu evocar minhas lembranças da infância ,de veroes na casa de avós, quando a empolgação acaba e se quer estar em outro lugar , com aquele momento revelador de ruptura do fim da infancia e do início do tédio da vida adulta que não se pode escapar.
Obs: os dialogos entre Berenice e Frankie são tão profundos maduros e reveladores , são as melhores do livro , duas "outsiders"
julkatt's review against another edition
5.0
Give me Carson McCullers any time of the day, any day of the week. Enough said.
actofcynic's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5