Perfect Timing!

[thisnewday]

Our book club selection, for this month's meeting, is Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. As I was leaving our holiday party last month, just after Christmas, I mentioned to the other male member of our group that I had the movie adaptation on order as well as the book.

Jim's response was that I should definitely read the book first which had, in fact, been my intention. (He's a retired teacher, from one of the more prestigious districts west of Syracuse, and his knowledge of books, history, and movies is almost encyclopedic. Which is part of why I value his opinion and enjoy talking to him.)

In the meantime, even before I'd gotten the book and started reading, I managed to spoil the ending for myself by consulting Wikipedia about the author's life. Worse yet, I found myself totally creeped-out by some of the details of McCullers' life--her social interactions, primarily, not her sexual orientation, along with her literary classification as a Southern Gothic.

Then, I started reading the book and was immediately struck, disarmed, taken in, by the warmth of her narrative, her compassion in giving voice to the social misfits, outcasts, and "racial inferiors" who people her writing. And I had to know how and why this was possible, especially in light of what I thought I knew about her.

So I immediately ordered 3 more of her books and, most importantly, what looked to be the most authoritative account of her life--which spanned only 50 years, BTW--Virginia Spencer Carr's The Lonely Hunter.

Last night, I finished Ms. McCullers' novel and would've immediately watched the movie had I not been so exhausted. And then, shortly after I returned from the gym this morning, Carr's biography and a collection of McCullers' short stories were delivered by UPS. See what I mean about the timing?

Anyway, my grandson won't be here for his tutoring today--due to illness--and as soon as I've done the part of my workout that I do at home and made the dinner I've been planning, I'm gonna dive into the bio. Which is gonna take a while to read because it's 537 pages in length, followed by another 50 pages of scholarly documentation.

So I guess the movie is gonna have to wait, yet again. But I'm thinking this would be OK with my old friend Jim...

LPK
Dreamwidth
1.9.2019

Comments

[rosegardenfae]

I love the work of Carson McCullers and have read many of her books though long ago. I know you will have a enjoyable time with all that reading. Nice.

[thisnewday]

"I know you will have an enjoyable time..." You're so right! I've finished the novel and am now 100-plus pages into Carr's bio and McCuller's has definitely found a place in MY heart!

Ideally, I would've liked to have finished the bio and McCuller's novella, "Reflections in a Golden Eye," before our club meeting on the 24th. But I know that's not gonna happen so I'm just gonna make it as far into the bio as I can get by meeting time.

In the bio, "Heart" has just been published and she and her 2x ex-husband Reeves have just escaped Fayetteville, NC--which they both hated--to begin their new life in NYC.

And that's what I really NEEDED to accomplish, to get a sense of her process--and life--up through the writing and publication of the novel we'll be discussing.

The sad thing is that this is yet another instance where my undergraduate program at the state university let me down, first, in its glossing over of modernist/post-modern writers and, second, in its total disregard for woman writers of the 20th century.

But, such whining aside, I do feel grateful for this opportunity to read and talk about them now...

[rosegardenfae]

So glad you are enjoyed the reading. Bio sounds interesting. I know nothing about her life. Have come to enjoy reading a biography of authors first, certainly adds depth to the enjoyment of their work. Thanks for inspiring me on that score.

I was fortunate that by doing a Women's Study minor, I was introduced to many women authors I probably would never have read.

[thisnewday]

The first real exposure I had to women in "Literature with a capital L" was when we took our second daughter to registration at the University at Albany and I picked up a copy of "Women of the Left Bank" in the school bookstore. Which would've made me about 50 years old. Pathetic.

But, again, I'm glad to have THIS chance and hope to make the most of it with what I've got left, lol. And I'm definitely lovin' it but my heart is breaking for the unrequited loves so densely scattered throughout Carson's life and work.

And BTW, having read her "Heart is a Lonely Hunter," you in fact know a LOT about her life. You know how with some writers their characters are composites of people they've known in their own lives? Well, one way to understand Carson McCullers is to say that, in her real life, she's a composite of her fictional characters.

If you want to read this bio, and can't get your hands on it, LMK and I'll send you mine when I'm done with it--although, at the pace I read these days, God only knows when that might be, lol...

[rosegardenfae]

Oh, you are such a romantic. :-)

I think I have a copy of "The Heart...", will have to reread it with McCullers' life in mind.

I hear you on long reading times, just closed the covers on "The Goldfinch" which took up most of January. Still trying to decide whether I really liked it or not.

In my defense I had a nasty reaction to some eyedrops from which I'm still trying to recover.