A review by zoolmcg
The Haunted Boy by Carson McCullers
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
This was a lovely little collection to read, and while I do think each of these stories varied in quality, I still enjoyed them a lot.
The titular ‘The Haunted Boy’ was by far my favourite. Tension is quickly established by Hugh’s reluctance to be left alone, and the more we see his emotions hinted at and finally revealed, a really great sense of his trauma is explored. For short stories, this is the exact type of development I look for - concise and effective story telling that maintains a level of mystery, unfolding just enough backstory to give the events their weight. His role as a boy growing into a man serve a great conflict with the emotions he experiences, shown through his tender love for his mother and the fear he has for losing her, which is contrasted by the angry outburst once she comes home. He’s defensive and turns cruel, then apologetic, because he can’t process that type of loss. ‘The other time’ is what haunts him and his memories the most, and it’s clear that his trauma isn’t at all worked through. The influence of his father contrasts his loving mother, who implies there should be a legitimate reason for crying and worrying (age, school, girls), and that is what makes the ending of this one so tragic.
Following on after that, ‘The Sojourner’ underwhelmed me somewhat. I appreciated the similar themes of family, but Ferris’ story and his struggles didn’t resonate with me so much. Of course it is sad, as he sees a life he could’ve had for himself while he ages and wastes his time escaping the US, having just buried his father back home. He’s lost and he lacks a sense of self, but him joining his ex-wife’s family for dinner didn’t particularly aid in my empathy for him. The ending was interesting, I suppose, since he’s trying to connect with this child while the pressing fact of his age weighs down on him. It was well written and I loved certain descriptions, but the plot and the characters weren’t all that engaging.
And lastly, ‘The Domestic Dilemma’ finished the collection off on a great note. I think especially for the era these were first published in, themes of depressed and alcoholic mothers/wives are extremely interesting. It shows thr artifixe in all the expectations put on women, and the fact that the pressure got to Emily to the point where she was reliant on alcohol. In neglecting her children and injuring one of them, we read her as irresponsible, and Martin is saving the day by being an exceptional father to bathe his beautiful children at the end. But in reality, he’s only doing the bare minimum, and if their positions were reversed, the situation would have been a lot more expected. Of course, Emily is a bad mother because of all of this, but Martin isn’t exactly a saviour, he’s only doing what a father ought to do. It shows how much he’s willing to put up with, to stay calm and considerate while the family suffers, but he’s only a good man when contrasted by Emily’s transgressions.
All in all, this small collection was a great quick read, and I definitely need to read some of McCuller’s novels too. I’d recommend it to anyone wanted to get into some short stories around family themes, because it’s done a great job at showcasing that from a variety of different perspectives.
The titular ‘The Haunted Boy’ was by far my favourite. Tension is quickly established by Hugh’s reluctance to be left alone, and the more we see his emotions hinted at and finally revealed, a really great sense of his trauma is explored. For short stories, this is the exact type of development I look for - concise and effective story telling that maintains a level of mystery, unfolding just enough backstory to give the events their weight. His role as a boy growing into a man serve a great conflict with the emotions he experiences, shown through his tender love for his mother and the fear he has for losing her, which is contrasted by the angry outburst once she comes home. He’s defensive and turns cruel, then apologetic, because he can’t process that type of loss. ‘The other time’ is what haunts him and his memories the most, and it’s clear that his trauma isn’t at all worked through. The influence of his father contrasts his loving mother, who implies there should be a legitimate reason for crying and worrying (age, school, girls), and that is what makes the ending of this one so tragic.
Following on after that, ‘The Sojourner’ underwhelmed me somewhat. I appreciated the similar themes of family, but Ferris’ story and his struggles didn’t resonate with me so much. Of course it is sad, as he sees a life he could’ve had for himself while he ages and wastes his time escaping the US, having just buried his father back home. He’s lost and he lacks a sense of self, but him joining his ex-wife’s family for dinner didn’t particularly aid in my empathy for him. The ending was interesting, I suppose, since he’s trying to connect with this child while the pressing fact of his age weighs down on him. It was well written and I loved certain descriptions, but the plot and the characters weren’t all that engaging.
And lastly, ‘The Domestic Dilemma’ finished the collection off on a great note. I think especially for the era these were first published in, themes of depressed and alcoholic mothers/wives are extremely interesting. It shows thr artifixe in all the expectations put on women, and the fact that the pressure got to Emily to the point where she was reliant on alcohol. In neglecting her children and injuring one of them, we read her as irresponsible, and Martin is saving the day by being an exceptional father to bathe his beautiful children at the end. But in reality, he’s only doing the bare minimum, and if their positions were reversed, the situation would have been a lot more expected. Of course, Emily is a bad mother because of all of this, but Martin isn’t exactly a saviour, he’s only doing what a father ought to do. It shows how much he’s willing to put up with, to stay calm and considerate while the family suffers, but he’s only a good man when contrasted by Emily’s transgressions.
All in all, this small collection was a great quick read, and I definitely need to read some of McCuller’s novels too. I’d recommend it to anyone wanted to get into some short stories around family themes, because it’s done a great job at showcasing that from a variety of different perspectives.