A Death in the Family by James Agee

[George]

Please comment here on ‘A Death in the Family’ by James Agee, 1958 Pulitzer Prize Winner.

[Michael]

Beautiful book by this ill-fated author. I really loved the text although it was almost oppressively depressing at times. The extent to which alcoholism pervades the adult lives in the story and is totally normalized is truly frightening. The 50s were definitely a different period, and yet I still felt parallels relevant to the contemporary epoch. I wish Agee had lived longer and written more. This book was both prophetic regarding its author’s fate and recollection on his father’s demise. Life imitating art and vice versa.

[Irene]

I read this several years ago and loved it. I thought it created the pain of childhood loss and confusion very well. I thought the balance between retelling the story through the eyes of a child with the wisdom of an adult looking back was perfectly calibrated. I never felt as if the author attributed to the child insights or reactions inappropriate to his age nor did the voice become grating or sacrin in its childishness.

[George]

Thanks for your comments Michael and Irene. Yes, this novel very effectively conveys the world as seen through the eyes of a child. There are some very memorable characters, including the alcoholic uncle Ralph and the "priggish" Father Jackson.

I enjoyed the writing style. I was surprised to learn how autobiographical the book is.

A character based, very realistic, poignant, moving, memorable novel, set in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the 1910s. The descriptions of Rufus being bullied by school boys, the visit to his great grandparents, Rufus and his sister grappling with what being dead means and the scene with Mary and her sister Hannah during the early hours of the morning, are all very memorable scenes.

This book was published posthumously in 1957. The author suffered a fatal heart attack in 1955, aged 45.

[Mary]

Will revisit this one. I started it a few years ago,but DNF.