Goodreads rating: 3.91/5
Reading Women Challenge 2019: 4) A book about or set in Appalachia
Author: James Agee
Genre: domestic fiction, autobiographical novel
First published: 1957
The novel is based on the events that occurred to Agee in 1915 when his father went out of town to see his own father, who had suffered a heart attack. During the return trip, Agee's father was killed in a car accident. The novel provides a portrait of life in Knoxville, Tennessee, showing how such a loss affects the young widow, her two children, her atheist father and the dead man's alcoholic brother.
The above taken from Wikipedia.
Apparently this is a memoir about James Agee losing his father at a young age. He recounted the moments of the loss experienced by him and his family, and transferred it into this book. Truly a poignant read, emotionally charged and beautifully written. Such poetic prose with detailed scenarios and activities that I can so relate to the story during that era.
In summary, this book is about family, religion and death. How a Christian family coped with the unexpected death of a loved one. How one could turned a negative mind in view of such stress and duress. How 3 families were brought much closer in a sad time like this. Negativity, hatred, anger... yet was turned to love, respect and understanding positively.
Such a lovely book, recommended to those who have lost a loved one and still recovering from it. It may be religious but the positivism is something we can relate to. Aside from the extra stories which the publisher added from the original manuscript that I find to be long winded, overall it is a soothing read. Definitely keeping this tattered copy which I've recently inherited :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment