Book Review: The Member of the Wedding

The Member of the Wedding, written by Carson McCullers, is an interesting book about a confused girl named Frankie Addams. In the beginning of the novel she is sitting down with her cousin and housekeeper discussing her brothers soon approaching wedding. Even though Frankie is only twelve years old she tries to act much older in attempts to be more mature. She is a troubled girl who only longs to find her place in the world, and to find some meaning in life. As the story progresses she finds herself in a sexual situation with a Soldier she met up with at a local bar. She later attempts to run away with her father's pistol but is soon found by the police. Towards the end of the book things begin to look up for Frankie, she meets a new friend and her housekeeper leaves to get married.

Carson McCullers, also known as Lula Carson McCullers, was born in Columbus, Georgia, as the daughter of a well-to-do watchmaker and jeweller. McCullers is an American author who carefully examined the psychology of alienated and lonely people. Although McCuller's only published eight books she made a great impact on many people who read her books. One of her best known novels is The Heart is a Lonely Hunter which she wrote at the age of twenty-two. In 1937 she married Reeves McCullers, a failed author. Before the wedding she told her parents that she did not want to marry him until she first had experienced sex with him. McCullers's marriage turned out to be unlucky. They both had homosexual relationships and separated in 1940.

I beleieve this book is of literary merit beacuse young adults can easily relate to this book. In the book Frankie is a confused girl who doesn't know where to turn, like many young adults who are struggling in life everyday. Another issue that is brought up in the book is sex. In this book Frankie almost has sex with a soldier and soon after falls into depression. Sex before marriage is a major issue that McCullers writes about and also dealt with in real life. In my opininon, even though the book was hard to follow at times, it is a book I believe is worth reading. It is an easily relatable book and touches on issues young adults deal with everyday.

The Memeber of the Wedding is an easily relatable, worth reading book. Once in awhile I myself start to feel alone and isolated, reading this book reassured me that I am not alone in this world. It assured me that there are other people who feel the same as I do. In retrospect, this book is of literary merit because young adults can relate to it and reassure themselves that they are not alone in this world.

Sources:

This site provides backround information about Carson McCullers and her life. It tells about her novels, her marriage, and her childhood. I found this website very helpful in giving information about this author.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/carsonmc.htm

This website also provides information about McCuller's life and childhood. One aspect about this site that I found interesting was that it talked about McCuller's literary reputation, her honors, and her final works.
http://www/.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-557