hoperu's review against another edition
3.0
Well, it was a decent book, and if I were reading it for an English lit class I am sure I could write all sorts of papers about it. But, I didn't love it, and don't know if I would recommend it. The overwhelming feeling I had while reading it was dread - dread that something terrible is going to happen on every page, and it pretty much did. It is amazing to me just how much dread McCullers was able to pack into each page.
kerryanndunn's review
4.0
This is a beautifully written book with meticulously realized characters that makes you just want to give up at everything in life when you realize that Carson McCullers was able to create this astounding piece of work at the age of twenty-three.
Mick Kelly was my favorite character by far and I kinda wish the book had focused more on her. In fact, I love Mick so much I named my dog after her!
Mick Kelly was my favorite character by far and I kinda wish the book had focused more on her. In fact, I love Mick so much I named my dog after her!
bleary's review against another edition
5.0
Every creative writing course in the world is teaching people to write some version of this novel.
adamz24's review
2.0
The characters are vibrant, the story somewhat compelling, and there is a resounding sense of loneliness, isolation, and frustration within this work. But all that is let down by an uninteresting prose style that is very conventional, and falls into many of the traps writers are warned against these days. One could dismiss it as 'of the time,' but even a mildly well-read person has encountered far superior stylists from that period, and from the South.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe was far better, in my view.
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe was far better, in my view.
mooncrab's review
2.0
Reading this book was like climbing a mountain: some parts are not enjoyable at all but finally reaching the top makes the experience worthwhile. Written in 1940, there is some intense racism (engrained and explicit) and other bigoted remnants of the times. At the same time, it provides an interesting glimpse into the era and a study of a diverse cast of characters. This book would not have the same acclaim if it were written today. Ultimately, though, I prefer my books to have more of an engaging storyline; this one was often slow and incoherent (hence the mountain metaphor). I’m confused by Oprah’s endorsements because I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending this book to anyone, but I’m glad I read it anyway.
irenealgi's review
2.0
This was boring. Dull. I might have read at the wrong time, the wrong way, because it looks like I'm in the minority here, but I didn't like this novel. It's not that it has disappointed me, or that I expected more from it than what I got. I got what I expected, and I like the concept of the book. I think it's beautifully written, and Mick Kelly in particular sounds like a very human, realistic character. The way she thinks about music, and the way she dreams about her future, and her ambition to live different things, to see the snow, and live somewhere else, and learn to write music. And then the last scenes with Harry, you could see what was going to happen, you could feel it, that pubescent curiosity, the initiation to sexuality, the children that want to act like adults and when they do, they become adults that would rather go back to being children.
And yet it's taken me a whole month to read this rather short novel, which is not a good thing to say about a book. It made me sleepy. It didn't trap me except for a few pages. I kept reading, waiting for the final light, the big surprise, the pages that would make me change my mind, but those never arrived. And in that sense, I am disappointed.
And yet it's taken me a whole month to read this rather short novel, which is not a good thing to say about a book. It made me sleepy. It didn't trap me except for a few pages. I kept reading, waiting for the final light, the big surprise, the pages that would make me change my mind, but those never arrived. And in that sense, I am disappointed.
fantasticmrethan's review against another edition
4.0
A bittersweet meander that will stick with me.
carljwood's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5