Katie's review
A Death in the Family by James Agee
There's a lot I liked about this, not the least being its simplicity: the novel is essentially a portrait of grief, but succeeds in being absorbing and fresh, mostly for its clean, lyrical prose and psychological acuity. I'd also argue that this book is something of a critique of the Church and religion in general, which I'm always up for. But I made the mistake of reading first the editors' note, which insists that though the book was unfinished (put together and published posthumously), it's a master work of perfection, which I really didn't think was the case, structurally. And I would've liked to see more of the dark undercurrents explored (the father's past of alcoholism, etc). But now I just sound like I'm workshopping. I can't stop, I need help!
Yes, yes, there is something not quite right about this book. The pacing was off, in my humble opinion. The opening read like a dream. Yet, there were no moments of dreamy fright, just the facts and now I can't even remember anything else about it than getting bored by the end.
