A Death in the Family by James Agee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A modern classic, reminiscent of Faulkner and Eudora Welty. Told from the point of view of a 6-year-old boy. The story of a family's struggle to deal with the sudden and inexplicable death of a father and husband.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a child, particularly a tragedy such as this, for 310 pages can be a bit of a strain. While there is much to admire, I was glad to be finished with the book by the last page.

It should be noted that the book, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1958, was published after Agee's untimely death. He had yet to put the finishing polish to the manuscript, which was completed by others. I didn't find any problems with this, but readers should be aware of the fact.



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