A Death in the Family in Never too Late to Read Classics

May 23, 2016 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: usa, audible-us, southern, life-stages, religion, classics, bio, 2016-read

What do I do? I am worrying about my rating of A Death in the Family. I was uncomfortable with all the stuff about religion in the book. This and the funeral at the end were difficult for me to bear. I am altering the rating to four. The rating reflects my personal preferences.

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I have chosen to give this book five stars because it so very accurately portrays death in a Southern family. It has in-depth character portrayals and excellent writing. I didn't enjoy read What do I do? I am worrying about my rating of A Death in the Family. I was uncomfortable with all the stuff about religion in the book. This and the funeral at the end were difficult for me to bear. I am altering the rating to four. The rating reflects my personal preferences.

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I have chosen to give this book five stars because it so very accurately portrays death in a Southern family. It has in-depth character portrayals and excellent writing. I didn't enjoy reading the book. I was glad when it was over, but the reality it depicts is so pitch-perfect that I was utterly amazed. It is for this reason the book is amazing. This is why I am giving it five stars.

The book is autobiographical. Rufus, a young boy that loses his father to death in a car accident, is one of the central protagonists of the novel. It is a rewriting of the author’s own experience. In fact the author’s middle name is Rufus! It is set in the South, Knoxville, Tennessee. Discrimination of the colored and the poor play in. The importance of religious faith too. The book is about a father's death and how this impacts on the lives of his children, his wife and every single member of the family. The children's relationships to each other and to their classmates are superbly depicted - through dialog and behavior. The widow is a devote Catholic. Her father is not. We watch a skeptic and a faithful interact. Others waiver in their religious beliefs. We observe how each behaves and what they say. There are kind figures and there are cruel figures. The brother of the man who dies is a drunk. We watch how he behaves too. His words are perfect even if they make you cringe. Every single one of this diverse group of individuals, young and old, those with and those without faith, those who are good-for-nothings and those who are moral and upright and strong are convincingly and accurately drawn. Tremendous lines. Humor and grief. Accurate, accurate, accurate - that is the defining adjective to describe the book. Even that the book drags a bit in the middle makes sense; we are viewing how the children perceive what is happening in the confusing world around them. To draw a star off for this is just wrong.

The audiobook narration was tremendous. Young and old, jokes and sobbing, women and men, Blacks and Whites, sober and tipsy - all are perfectly intoned. The speed is perfect.

I close this book with admiration for the accuracy with which the death in an ordinary Southern family is drawn. We watch through the eyes of the children as well as the adults. My discomfort while reading this book is appropriate. It is how I should feel. It is a direct result of its accuracy and its potency.

There are two versions of this book. I have read the McDowell version. The book was first published in 1957 after the author’s death. It is this version that won the Pulitzer in 1958. In this original version the editor David McDowell both rearranged and deleted sections of the original manuscript. The beginning of the novel, as it was first published by McDowell, was not originally part of the manuscript. It was another short piece of the author’s writing. You know you have the McDowell version if the story begins with the heading “Knoxville: Summer of 1915”. The McDowell edition has flashbacks. They do not exist in the version compiled from the original manuscript by Michael Lofaro in 2007. There are 20 chapters in the McDowell version and 44 short chapters in the Lofaro version. The flashbacks are in italics in the printed McDowell version. As an audiobook these sections are quickly perceived as flashbacks from their content.
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Apr 23, 2020 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2020, pulitzer, american-lit

I am continuing my personal goal of reading all of the Pulitzer winners, and this gem makes me so glad that I started. This book is brutally, devastatingly sad. But is is also the best exploration of death that I have ever read. (And, this may be one of my favorite themes in literature as it exposes so much about humanity and the emotions we all feel at some time in our lives.)

There is no spoiler here as the title of A Death in the Family tells us exactly what we are going to experience. However I am continuing my personal goal of reading all of the Pulitzer winners, and this gem makes me so glad that I started. This book is brutally, devastatingly sad. But is is also the best exploration of death that I have ever read. (And, this may be one of my favorite themes in literature as it exposes so much about humanity and the emotions we all feel at some time in our lives.)

There is no spoiler here as the title of A Death in the Family tells us exactly what we are going to experience. However it was a surprise that we were a third of the way into the book before that death happened. And I am so glad that was the case, because that allowed me to care about and connect with all of those who would be left behind to mourn the loss.

The entire narrative occurs over a few days, which allowed Agee to delve deeply into all the little moments. When the spouse is considering the "what ifs" before she knows the outcome of the accident, she moves from denial, to hope, to fear, to acceptance. (1. Perhaps he has the wrong person. 2. Well, if it is my husband he may need to be in bed for a while so I will make up the room downstairs. 3. I hope it isn't so bad that he is mentally deficient in the future. 4. He must be gone or I would know by now, wouldn''t I?) It is brilliant, true, and so very real. It is exactly the way we all experience an unexpected loss.

This is a spare, simple, quiet book without a traditional plot. This one is all about character and emotion. The events are mundane and uncomplicated. The describtions are about the tiniest details. But the emotional impact is profound.

The children in the story are written with authenticity. Rufus believes that he must be the caretaker of his sister. And while the other children at school are cruel towards him he takes a sliver of pleasure from his new prestige and status. He is getting attention that he never had before. And Catherine is unable to comprehend that her father is not going to come home. They argue with one another in the ways that two siblings trapped at home do. Their confusion, sadness and irritation is palpable. But they are never portrayed as too mature or too immature. Agee created children that act like children.

I will recommend this one often, but perhaps only to those who have put some space between them and the events that caused them similar pain. ...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Janice rated it it was amazing

I read this book 40 years ago when my brother died in Vietnam. I've returned to it over the years and it is more vivid in my memory than most of the very wonderful books I've read since. I find especially poignant the introduction "Knoxville Summer 1915" which Samuel Barber put to music. ...more

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