Heard mixed responses about Carson McCullers' The Member of the Wedding, but the negative views suggested it was too slow, introspective and the key character wasn't engaging. So I approached it with some anxiety, especially as I was a fan of McCullers' superbly titled The Ballad of the Sad Cafe when I read it at uni many years ago (although I can't remember much about it).
Anyway, I have to say not only did I enjoy every page (despite it being inward-looking in many respects), but her use of language is so rich I was hanging on every sentence - it's stunning. Although it's a little pointless to take phrases out of context, without the rhythm of preceding lines, voices, insights, there are startlingly visual sentences like:
"At last the summer was like a green sick dream, or like a silent crazy jungle under glass" and "the minutes of the afternoon were like bright mirrors."
Not only that, but I did engage with Frankie, the central character, and couldn't help but get caught up in the flow of words and ideas so that the pages turned very well indeed. So much so, that I've dug out my copy of The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (dusty and page-darkened) and placed it on my pile of books waiting to be read.
