A Death in the Family (book of the month)

[lovejuice]

our february reading is suggested by kf. a death in the family by james agee.

http://batman.ugo.com/images/galleries/batman_adeathinthefamily_comic s/batman_adeathinthefamily_1.jpg

sorry, it's this one.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514RAQ0NW3L.jpg

anyway, the book should be rather easy to acquire, and it's only 300 pages. if you're not done with the melancholy of resistance, don't fret. take your time.

[Sycophant]

I missed out on Melancholy but I'll probably try to get in on this one. Also, I don't object to you picking out the next one, lovejuice.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I missed out on Melancholy but I'll probably try to get in on this one. Also, I don't object to you picking out the next one, lovejuice.

Awesome. That makes 3 of us thus far. C'mon people! It's a Pulitzer winner! Let's make this one successful.

[number8]

The former is a terrible book.

[Kurosawa Fan]

The former is a terrible book.

So read the latter with us to make up for it!

[Skitch]

Dang I really thought this was the first one posted there...great book.

[Qrazy]

If I can get my hands on a cheap copy I'm in, otherwise I'm out, been spending too much on books lately.

[lovejuice]

i just realize that meg also signed up. silly me. march'll be his turn.

[ledfloyd]

my library actually has this so i'm in. i'll acquire it when i go next week. it looks like i have to wonder into the young adult section though. it always creeps me out going to the upstairs (kids) section of the library. everything is midget sized.

[Qrazy]

Good news! I found a 4 dollar copy at my local, so I'm in.

[megladon8]

The book just came in, but I guess I'm going to be pretty late for this by the time I finally finish "Lamb".

Oh well - I'll read it at my own pace, and post my thoughts here.

[ledfloyd]

picked this up today, i'll probably start it after i finish the book i'm reading right now.

[lovejuice]

i'll start this one tomorrow.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Just started this today.

[lovejuice]

finish. i will post my thought later on.

[ledfloyd]

i have this on my nightstand, i keep putting off starting it.

[lovejuice]

i have refrained from posting my thought since i do not want to discourage others from picking this novel up or finishing it. but, sorry kf, this is not for me.

there really are a lot to be admired. i love the subject matter. it sure is not the only novel about a death in the family, but it's among a few that deal with "the moment." most books with similar theme are about what happens in the long run, months or years after the tragedy strikes. agee sets his novel mainly within a day or two after and before the accident. the result is very unique.

so why don't i like it? i think, i'll wait until others post their thoughts.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I just finished part one (about 1/3 of the way through the book). So far I like it quite a bit. Hopefully I'll just end up disagreeing with you lovejuice, because I'd hate for a premise that's promising like this to fall apart. I'll try to finish it in the next few days, and post my thoughts after.

[Kurosawa Fan]

*sigh*

Well, I'm going to have to agree with lovejuice. I think I liked it a bit more than you did, but it sure fell apart. I really liked the first act, the way Agee set up the relationship between the Jay and Rufus, and Jay and Mary. Didn't care for the section on Jay's brother Ralph (it seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever, as he never reappears in the story). After that break though, after Jay's death, that impotent second act was just unforgivable. They strayed from the most interesting character of the novel (Rufus) for 125 pages. And what we're left with is the cornball philosophies of adults who feel like they're trying to make smart. Agee did a terrible job trying to insert an interesting dialogue about religion into the story, forcing it down our throats with conversations that seem so phony and contrived. His adult characters felt more like vehicles for his own point of view than real, fleshed-out people.

The book gets back on track when examining the loss, and the understanding of that loss, from the children's perspective. Again, Rufus was a fascinating character, and his conflicting feelings about his father's death were the only things in the novel that felt genuine. From the moment he learns of his father's death to the day of the funeral, the book is at its strongest. The other moments are dull and lifeless, including the funeral and beyond.

I'd say it was worth reading for Agee's creation of Rufus, but beyond that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[lovejuice]

Well, I'm going to have to agree with lovejuice. I think I liked it a bit more than you did, but it sure fell apart. I really liked the first act, the way Agee set up the relationship between the Jay and Rufus, and Jay and Mary. Didn't care for the section on Jay's brother Ralph (it seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever, as he never reappears in the story). After that break though, after Jay's death, that impotent second act was just unforgivable. They strayed from the most interesting character of the novel (Rufus) for 125 pages. And what we're left with is the cornball philosophies of adults who feel like they're trying to make smart. Agee did a terrible job trying to insert an interesting dialogue about religion into the story, forcing it down our throats with conversations that seem so phony and contrived. His adult characters felt more like vehicles for his own point of view than real, fleshed-out people.


agree with the bold sentences. and yes, i really like the first part.

i can see how this novel might have worked. perhaps in a screenplay format. what a death in the family needs are actors to portray all the shadowy figures. as it is, they are too non-substantial for us to really care about. i'm also troubled by the uneven written style. sometime he dwells into minute details, and sometime a bunch of dialogues are fired back and forth between phantoms.

[Kurosawa Fan]

agree with the bold sentences. and yes, i really like the first part.

i can see how this novel might have worked. perhaps in a screenplay format. what a death in the family needs are actors to portray all the shadowy figures. as it is, they are too non-substantial for us to really care about. i'm also troubled by the uneven written style. sometime he dwells into minute details, and sometime a bunch of dialogues are fired back and forth between phantoms.

My problem with his writing was that he would change perspective on a whim, and it felt kind of sloppy. He would be writing from the perspective of Rufus, and suddenly make complex observations about what was going on around him, and you'd realize he wasn't talking for Rufus anymore. Plus, for a novel with a subject like this, it lacked any emotional depth, and was really quite forgettable.

Maybe I didn't like it more than you. :lol: