The Member of the Wedding

Yet another masterpiece that the general public (or should I say sheeple) just doesn't "get."
If you have a heart, or even a soul (I doubt it these days), how can you not be moved by this story??
It goes beyond a "coming of age" book..it is the archetypal search for one's SELF in this world.
Carson McCullers is a master at conveying the loneliness of that search, and the loneliness within all of us.
Her books move me to tears.

There is in the works of Carson McCullers a melancholy tone, signifying the main theme that dominates her writing. That theme is love. But it is not just the martyred longing of a poetic balladeer or the simplistic infatuation with love itself symbolized by the giving of a thorny rose; it is unrequited love, the tragic flaw of all humans to love the most that which is most incapable of returning that love. This tone of unrequited love leaves a reader with a feeling of haunting dreariness, as one would have for something unresolved.

McCullers grew up training to become a concert pianist. Perhaps one of the best analogies she uses to describe this aforementioned main theme is undoubtedly drawn from the thousands of hours she spent in front of the keyboard. In The Member of the Wedding, McCullers' heroine Frankie comments on the torture of an unfinished piano scale:

"If you start with A and go on up to G, there is a curious thing that seems to make the difference between G and A all the difference in the world. Twice as much difference as between any other two notes in the scale. Yet they are side by side there on the piano just as close together as the other notes."

Replete with meaning, this quote sums up very well McCullers' feelings concerning the tragedy of human relationships. When listening to a music scale, there is something within everyone -something universal or instinctual, perhaps - that cringes when the scale is not completed, especially if it is just the last note that is left off. This human trait is perhaps best described by the German Bauhaus art movement, which attempts to explain, among other things, how humans have an inherent need to complete all aspects of existence, most notably in the visual arts. The human brain is wired to finish that which is just barely incomplete, such as a three-quarter circle (one naturally sees the semblance of a full circle) or how the use of negative space alone can define the subject (or positive space) of a work. In the aforementioned example of the piano scale, McCullers brilliantly links the longing for love with that unfinished scale. For some reason, true love is always just out of reach, like the ascension of a piano scale that never reaches the last note. And just like the auditory incompleteness of the piano scale jars the nerves, the emotional incompleteness of never attaining true love can "drive you wild!"

Carson McCullers twists and wrings every prickled feeling out of her young protagonist into a disturbingly entertaining one-day read. The Member of the Wedding is a slow, detailed painting of only two days in the life of twelve year old Frankie Addams: the miserable, sour August day in Georgia when she hears that her brother is getting married, and the eventful hours she spends roaming her town on the day before the wedding.

McCullers does a compelling job of coaxing the reader into the frustrated, tortured world of Frankie's mind. We mourn with her on the subject of her unfortunate height and hideous crew haircut, which cast her from the petty adolescent society. We alternately resent and pity her pathetic six-year-old cousin John Henry West, and strain with her to win even a fleeting moment of respect from her distant watchmaking father. It is her relationship with Berenice, the family's cook and babysitter, that is the most vivid and human. If not for Berenice's sensible and tart remarks, I would have lost patience with Frankie and the book quickly.

The few complaints I have could not be remedied without taking the unique edge off of the book's message. At times it is difficult to follow Frankie in her delusional dreams of becoming part of her brother's new family. In reality, the book has very little to do with the wedding; it is glossed over in a page or two, the concentration being more on the great expectations and the subsequent downfall. I do wish that there had been more background with the relationship between Frankie and Jarvis (her brother), which would have made her fantasies of running off with him more understandable. As it was, they were very nearly strangers and I was frustrated with Frankie for being so stupid that she thought there was even a possibility of being a part of their post-wedding lives. The title is a bit misleading as well; member of the wedding connotes actually being in the wedding party, and Frankie was merely an observer. There are also incongruities in relation to Frankie's age throughout the book, which may actually serve more to highlight both the child and the teenager in her. For instance, the tantrum she throws when she is not included on the honeymoon seems ridiculously childish, yet she remains composed as she drinks beer in a seedy bar with a drunken soldier. It's too bad the book deals in such delicious subtlety and psychological darkness, or it would be wonderful for readers who are closer to adolescence themselves. As it is, the book is more suited to readers older than sixteen, at least.

All in all, this piece conveyed beautifully many of the painful themes of humanity and the life of a young, freakish girl desperately trying to find her place in the world. A tasty read that you won't be able to put down if you enjoy gnawing on rich, real human themes.

One of McCullers's best pieces of writing, The Member of the Wedding is beautiful in its intuitive simplicity. McCullers was a master of concision. That this skill is employed in the revelation of an interior world; especially one of a young girl, is part of what makes this book special. As someone who grew up in the south, I can also say that, for me, the atmosphere rings true.

I read this when I was in my teens or early twenties; can't remember exactly. It became part of my own expressive vocabulary, as well as influencing my creative writing. Parts of the story are very painful; parts of very painful. Many of McCullers's finest strokes mix the humor with the pain.

I'm writing this to save anyone who's as impatient as I with blow-by-blow reviews and armchair analyses. I think it's safe to say that if you enjoy the writing of Truman Capote, you are likely to enjoy that of Carson McCullers. Just for a reference point, some of my other favorite writers are Flannery O'Connor, Shirley Jackson, Jane Bowles, Somerset Maugham, Anne Waldman, Charles Dickens, Greil Marcus, Lewis Carroll, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jane Austen.

This is my very favorite book and, in my opinion, far superior to "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

I was not an adolescent when I read it--I was 23--but I was astonished by how often McCullers was able to perfectly describe what I had believed to be indescribable experiences. In some ways I think that my attachment to the book grew from my ability to relate to Frankie's anxiety. The pace of the book, which all takes place during one stereotypically oppressive southern summer, becomes more frantic as Frankie's anxiety mounts. Her efforts to belong, to be a member of something, push her to force attachments with others even while she knows they are superficial. I'm certain that, on this point alone, readers who remember the desperation to belong during their adolescence will relate to the novel. McCullers also conveys Frankie's longing for something to happen, to take her beyond the repetetive tedium of her young life and infuse it with adventure. When Frankie takes this task into her own hands, the results are harsh and startling.

What truly makes McCullers and this slim novel so amazing is her prose, which is both so sparse and crisp and yet so eloquent and expressive. Every word seems so deliberate that I couldn't believe there could be a more perfect way to depict the scene. At the novel's start, I will always remember the sentence, "At last the summer was like a green sick dream, or like a silent crazy jungle under glass."

I wish I could convey how much this book gripped me. It made me feel that my experiences were shared in a much deeper way than I ever could have imagined or hoped. "The Member of the Wedding" is funny, distressing, and deeply sad: as perfect a novel as I've ever read.

I understand the cultural setting of this novel doesn't translate well into the 21st century, but it seems that perhaps many of the "reviewers" do not grasp the significance of the historical setting of the story.
A young girl growing up, motherless, and only with her father and housekeeper, in the mid-20th century south. Larger, close-knit families were the staple of this time frame, and not being part of one may have contributed to her being outcast and socially inept. Frankie had obviously grown too quickly from grade-school tomboy to awkward adolescent and had no close peers to learn from.
Anyone who can recall being 12 -- at least in a less jaded time -- will understand the feeling of being "special and different." Frankie knew something had to change, but was uncertain where to start. With Jarvis, her adored (and absentee) older brother, she found an icon to follow. It made perfect sense to her, that - now that she was turning the corner to adulthood, and he was returning from the service, she could renew her family bond with him.
Berenice tried to communicate the folly of this thinking to Frankie, but as with any rebellious youth, her advice was ignored. Frankie's father was very much a man of the times...preoccupied with his business and secure in the belief that Berenice would take care of his daughter.
The classical part of the story is the painful revelation of the truth which finally tames Frankie. The sad loss of her small cousin, John Henry, is obviously a metaphor for the loss of her own childhood - followed by the bittersweet acceptance of friends her own age, who Frankie finally "sees" with new eyes.

This tiny book packs a psychological punch. Ostensibly about a 12-year old girl's emotional hardships with growing and change, this fine-toned story relates to any age. Carson McCullers's novella is rich with characters, all finely wrapped within beautiful prose. Frankie, the 12-year old protagonist, "... had become an unjoined person who hung around in doorways, and she was afraid." What happens to Frankie? The author brilliantly captures our interest in Frankie's achingly sweet journey to look for something missing in her life. She looks in the wrong places, wanting desperately to belong---to be a member of the wedding--a keenly sensitive metaphor for belonging. All of us feel like outsiders now and then, and Carson McCullers poetically embraces the essence of that feeling--no matter what age.
Set in a Faulkian town in the South--in the heat of August--during the 2nd World War, it is a time and place that witnesses death, racism, and disappointment. But for Frankie, it is her time for change.

Women authors from the 1930s and 40s should be (in this reviewer's thinking) resurrected. Ms. McCullers is known for her psychological depth into the human condition, and this book is a testament to that; but her prose rivals the Faulkners, the Hemingways, and the Steinbecks of early 20th century America. Can be read in one day, but will not be forgotten.

In The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers captures the lyricism, melancholy, and wonder that animate the young southern protagonist's mind, and comments sagely on the hardships of maturation. That pivotal time of life when one transits from childhood into adulthood is brought to life in all its despair and disillusionment.

Unfortunately, Frankie is not a terribly likeable character, and the author does little to steer empathy toward her in the action that unfolds in the story.

Like a slow, sultry, summer day in the south, that action is minimal at best. At times the novel seems almost like a still life portrait of a heat wave parked in a valley. Pre-adolescent fantasies about becoming fulfilled by participating in a sibling's wedding ceremony hardly make for edge-of-your-seat reading.

Nevertheless, the author enriches the southern gothic tradition with multidimensional characters who evoke the period with depth and detail. Berenice, who is more likeable than Frankie, inspires and amuses with her diction and her life experience. Had McCullers assigned more plot development instead of making the story almost wholly character-driven, these characterizations could rank with the best in southern fiction.

I suppose I would have enjoyed this book much more if the main character was somewhat more rational (read: believable). The main character in this novel is Frankie Addams, a twelve-year-old girl from a small town in the south who is at "that awkward age" and bored to tears. The only thing that even comes close to resembling excitement in her life is the fact that her brother (in the army during WWII and stationed in Alaska) is getting married within a week. Frankie somehow convinces herself that she, her brother and the bride-to-be are meant to be togther and convinces herself that the three of them will live an adventerous life together after teh wedding.
While the main character is probably the most illogical and annoying main character in any novel I've ever read (with the possible exception of the main character in "Love in the Time of Cholera"), the redeeming quality of this work is the style in which Carson McCullers writes. Even with a ...main character like Frankie, McCullers writes in a very enjoyable style. Although I never "understood" Frankie Addams, I did grow to like Bernice (the black cook) and John Henry (Frankie's 6-yar-old cousin). McCullers draws the reader into the setting and makes the characters three-dimentional.
While I would not exactly consider this a Young Adult "coming of age" novel, I would recommend it. I don't think the pace is quick enough to hold the interest on young adults, but I would encourage them to read this book. I would more strongly recommend it to People high school age or older, not because of the story, but because of the prose.

In The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullers, Frankie's wish to be with her brother and his wife-to-be symbolized her frantic need to escape the stagnant monotony her young life had become. Trapped in an awkward world of adolescence, Frankie no longer fit in. School was out and she had no friends her own age with whom she could associate. She felt isolated. John Henry was too young for her to relate to and though Berenice was in many ways her only source of emotional support, she was a permanent fixture of the kitchen from which Frankie so desperately wanted to flee. Somehow, someway, Frankie was going to leave.
There was, however, one problem. Frankie knew, perhaps subconsciously, that she was too young to take charge of her own life. In a desperate attempt to find a solution to her dilemma, Frankie dared to dream. Janice and Jarvis were going to sweep her off her feet and take her with them to far off lands. With them, she would meet all the people she believed they knew. Though her fantasy was very obviously absurd, it served to fill her with hope, anticipation and joy. Her conviction in the realization of this dream was so persistent that she did not hesitate to verbalize her plan.
Thus, the reader is drawn into Frankie's storybook fantasy, discovering at the same time her inconsolable need to feel connected. If read at face value, many would surmise that Frankie's behavior simply merited stricter discipline; that she was way out of line; a spoiled child who had to have her way or knives would fly. Tennessee Williams stated, "Frankie's attempt to take out a membership in love is the main theme of the novel." If by love he meant the need to be accepted, then Frankie proved Tennessee Williams right in more ways than one.
The onslaught of adolescence can be brutal. Seemingly overnight, we are too tall or too short, too skinny or too chubby and what we are unexpectedly left with is what we perceive as a bloated, distorted image of what we once were. Frankie's height made it impossible for her to play under the boardwalk with the other children, who now taunted her with such remarks as, "Is it cold up there?" In all likelihood, Frankie supposed her new height meant she was an adult. She certainly was tall enough to be one, but the older girls in the neighborhood did not accept her in their club. Her own father distanced her when he told her that she was too old to sleep in the bed with him, tenderly calling her, "a great big long-legged twelve-year-old blunderbuss." Hurt by multiple rejections, Frankie changed her name to a more mature, feminine one. She doused herself with perfume and scrubbed the dirt off her elbows. She even accepted a date. Yet, when F. Jasmine listened to the news on the radio, she could not fully comprehend everything. Even the dress she had purchased for her brother's wedding was too large and sophisticated for her and met with Berenice's stern disapproval. However, none of this mattered much as long as F. Jasmine had her dream to cling to, but when Janice and Jarvis told her she simply could not join them, shattering the dream she had meticulously built, F. Jasmine broke. Stranded between two worlds in which acceptance was off-limits, she was forced to learn what loneliness meant.
One could easily consider F. Jasmine's need to feel connected as the mere folly of a bored 12-year-old child, yet it is painfully clear that her "attempt to take out a membership in love" was not superficial. When she cried out, "They went away and left me," she meant more than just the physical loss of Janice and Jarvis. F. Jasmine had lost the little child within her. Frankie was gone and along with her, so were those carefree days spent under the boardwalk with the other children; so were the safe nights tucked away in bed with her papa. What Frankie would soon learn, however, was that only time would heal her broken spirit. A new beginning lay just around the corner, one that promised bigger dreams. As Berenice had stated, "Things will happen."

Carson McCullers captures the awkward stage of adolescence and places it into one novel, The Member of the Wedding. The title of the novel may make it sound as if the entire novel takes place at a wedding. The novel actually takes place in a small southern town where Frankie Addams, a twelve year old, struggles with the process of growing up. Throughout the novel, McCullers wonderfully portrays the difficulties of lingering between childhood and womanhood. Frankie can no longer play with the children and she cannot relate to the world of women. Any woman can relate to this experience. I found myself reflecting on my own feelings as a twelve year old. These confusing feelings strongly resembled those of Frankie. At this age, a girl struggles with the awkwardness of learning how to dress, how to wear makeup, and how to act like a woman. Frankie realizes that she must leave the freedoms of her childhood and displays a reluctance to do so. She rejects a doll that her father brings home as a gift. Her reluctance sprouts from the restricted nature of life as a woman in society. Frankie's foolish actions and moodiness create delightful humor within the novel. At one point, Frankie places more importance on the wedding than on the death of her Uncle Charles. Frankie plans to live with Jarvis, her brother, and Janice, his fiancee, after she attends their marriage. She falls deeply in love with the idea of the wedding. Thoughts of the wedding give her shivers. A person falling in love with a wedding? This struck me as extremely amusing. Her love for the wedding illustrates her desire to be the part of a "we" and to leave behind her lonely "I" existence. As an adolescent, she feels that her own life is the center of the universe. As a result, Frankie Addams feels an extreme isolation from the world and constantly struggles to overcome it. Her isolation is a major theme of the novel. She feels as if no one else could possibly understand her. We've all felt this way at some point in our lives. When Frankie attempts to share her feelings with Bernice, a hired black cook, Bernice does not understand. This novel illustrates the adolescent search for identity. Frankie changes her name to F. Jasmine and gives herself an entirely new personality. This new identity represents a new level of maturity in her life. As F. Jasmine, Frankie possesses the ability to discuss love with Bernice, yet she refuses to see Bernice's hidden advice within their conversations. McCullers use of music to symbolize Frankie's feelings lends beauty to the novel. Unfinished songs and piano scales convey her fear of being alone. As the novel progresses, Frankie matures and makes her way toward womanhood. By the end of the novel, Frankie's name is Frances, her real name, and she no longer feels lonely in the world. Whether you are currently an adolescent or were an adolescent in the past, this novel is a great book to relate to.

I'm going to describe this novel as impressionistic and mannerist. It is so weird that we can hardly call it a realist novel, and indeed the storyline, such as it is, consists mostly of the main character, 12 year old Frankie's, blossoming adult identity.

If words were paint, this novel would consist of dibs and dabs of random words that, when you stand back, make a complete portrait of a pubescent girl. The effect of reading it is disorienting. You get John Henry and Berenice and Frankie all chattering in the kitchen, then something random happens, then they're chattering again, seemingly without any pattern or meaning. Then, when you have read the book and review it in your memory it all stands out so crystal clear. And because this is the depiction of an adolescent girl's psyche, the flittering and chattering of people and colors is a kind of literary metaphor for Frankie's developing consciousness.

Only in a few places does the dialog cease and a coherent flow of events emerges, and these are towards the end. What we see is the sense of self of an adolescent emerging into a clear, single, unified narrative of personhood, and it is fascinating! I cannot tell these events because they might spoil the reading of the end, which is worth it.

I do not agree with the queer theorists who try to co-opt poor Frankie's flailing about into their theories. It may be that adolescent development has something to teach us about queer theory, but it is absurd to suppose that queer theory can teach us about Frankie herself. The fact is, her sexual episodes are frightening and strange as only all human beings' fumbling first efforts at intimacy can be, and to impose any theory over them is simply to evade the painful reality of adolescence in and of itself.

'The Member of the Wedding' is also a depiction of manners. Berenice often seems like the amanuensis of the novel's lead character; providing through her immature and romantic adult fantasies a foil for Frankie's development. And John Henry, with his grown-up name and his slightly disturbing behaviors, is like a pet demon following Frankie around. So the main three characters do not form a triptych but really only exist to illuminate Frankie's character from different angles. Perhaps that is why the ending is so shocking, when the two supporting characters fall away.

My issue with the novel is that it seems to be written from within the consciousness it is trying to depict - that is, it seems to be written within an 12 year old consciousness. I cannot really imagine Frankie at 15 or 18 or 25, just from the material in the book as it stands. There is no sense that Frankie can survive outside the pages of the book. She lacks a certain vitality.

And I think that the nature of that vitality is sexual. Frankie is depicted as avoiding, fighting, perverting, twisting, diverting, and running away from sex, but she is never shown coming into a healthy relationship, even a healthy adolescent relationship, with her sexuality. She is forever frozen at the end of the novel at odds with her sexuality - and perhaps this is what the queer theorists find attractive about Frankie. As a character she is stuck in a dead end.

So I give this novel 3 stars, because while it is good, it is not great. It has no extraordinary vitality, but a freakishness and freshness which is light and quick and shallow. It is also a hard read, because you do not realize the whole picture until after you've read the novel. And I do not like the selfish way the author disposes of the other two characters, Berenice and John Henry, at the end of the novel either. The end seems tacked on, or perhaps even spiteful, to the characters.

I like the novel. It's good as a study of manners, character, adolescence, and subjective impressions, but as a novel it is not great.

From cover to cover, I was held enthralled for every moment of leisure time I spent in it's reading pleasure. Frankie is indeed many of us as we were at one time or another. I had seen the movie only once, and that was so many years ago, when I was very young. I had managed to catch the remaining portion of it where Frankie was unceremoniously dragged from the wedding couple's car, though I never learned the name of the movie itself. That unforgettable scene was etched in my mind all through my formative years, drifting in and out of my subconscious from time to time. I had recently learned the name of the movie and the book quite unexpectedly, and in anticipating it's much-awaited reading, I was treated to a world of lastingly memorable delights. Every nuance of it's sentence structure, every enduring length of it's grammar and rhetoric both offered and afforded me the most precious insights into the interior workings of my own youthful experiences, conceptualizations and reflections. It has truly supplied a necessary and essential component to my life. Everyone should read this book at least once in their lives. This is a work of literary excellence. I would recommend it enthusiastically. Thank you.

Frankie Adams, a 12 years old boyish girl, who is always left alone because she does not match with anyone. She is tall, has a hair cut like a boy, and is different from the others. However, only John Henry is her friend. This story goes back in time where there were war happening often. Frankie has a brother, Jarvis, who lives in a town called Winter Hill which is not far from Frankies place. How would you feel if you were a twleve year old girl loosing your brother, having no friends, getting ignored by everyone, and wars happening often? Would you feel terrified? lonely? angry? Would you feel the same as Frankie?
"Frankie closed her eyes, and, though she did not see them as a picture, she could feel them leaving her. She could feel the two of them together on the train, riding and riding away from her. They were them, and leaving her, and she was her, and sitting left all by herself there at the kitchen table. But a part of her was with them, and she would feel this part of her own self going away, and farther away; farther and farther, so that a drawn-out sickness cane in her, going away and farther away, so that the kitchen Frankie was an old hull left there at the table." Carson McCullers, the author, has used realistic details which gives the reader an image of how the story goes. She shows humor, passion, and sorts of emotional feelings. The problem and the theme of this book is that the author is trying to show the love and jealously of Frankies brother. The loneliness of being alone, the anger for not getting excepted by others, and the hate that she brings in this world.

Not many writers can characterize children realistically. Somehow a stylized silhouette emerges and the child fades in the background and the plot or adult characters take over the storyline and the children characters end up being nothing more than fluff. This is definately not one of those novels. Carson mcCullers writes almost with artistic persicion on her two most elaborate characters, F. Jasmine and John Henry West. I really cannot think of another story, maybe, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Conner, where the writer can get inside the mind of a child; evoking their unique thoughts and feelings with a sense of ease. John Henry West is one of the most well rounded and well written children I have ever read, and that is a great homage to her writing ability.

*I first read this at ten, can see that age or older reading it. Will have a intense impact on a sensitive pre teen reader.

Readers who are familiar with Southern literature from the mid- 20th century know all too well that many of these books are character-driven mood pieces. As such, the "Member of the Wedding" accurately chronicles some of the painful situations that all of us experience as youg adolescents. The plot is aside the point, and the anguish of growing up is front and center. The book is well-written and makes me want to read additional works by Ms. McCullers.

My husband read _The Member of the Wedding_ in school but it was never part of any of my Lit classes; I only read it now for the first time. As I began to know unlikeable, lonely, awkward, and aggressive Frankie I was struck by the intensity of McCullers' writing and could see that she was/is a great author; however I was unable to understand why the book has become such a classic and that feeling lasted until the final page. We all know someone a little like Frankie or have been somewhat like her ourselves, but she is such an extreme character that I found it hard to sympathize with her even as I recognized her fears and loneliness.
After her brother brings his fiancee home and announces their impending marriage, Frankie decides that she is to be part of their lives after the wedding. Fully believing this imagined change in her circumstances, she dresses up and walks around town, reveling in her story and making serious errors in judgement which put her in danger. At this juncture I was still following along, waiting for the epiphany or turning point, but even after Frankie bravely extricates herself from a very bad situation (which could lead her to believe that she is an okay person on her own) none is forthcoming.
The wedding is very anticlimactic; we learn about it in the words of one of Frankie's only friends, the housekeeper Berniece, and one short paragraph in Frankie's distanced perception. Frankie really seems to be emotionally ill and the reader gets the feeling that nothing will truly help her; especially at the end when it seems that, in my analysis, Frankie is about to repeat her mistakes, having learned nothing.

I just finished this book earlier today as required summer reading for my AP English class. I sort of understand why this book was a classic, and I know that most classic books are unconventional on purpose, but to me this book seemed to have some major flaws. First off: very few events occur in the first half of the book. It is mostly narrative -the constant descriptions of Frankie's surroundings and experience, while profound, are repeated over and over, basically filling up space. The book is short but took almost 5 days to read because it is soo dull at times.I understand that the message of the difficulty of adolescance and not feeling as though one belongs in the world was communicated through the extreme character, so it is probably not for kids to read because most would simply dismiss it as terrible writing(I know all my friends who are still reading it are) because they would fail to identify with Frankie/F.Jasmine/Frances. The play is probably better because the events would be condenced(less talking).

Frankie's struggle with existence throughout McCuller's novel may have appeared a bit dramatic, but in reality it conveys the typical teenage/adolescent experience of feeling awkward and lacking a sense of belonging in the world, which I recognized as the key theme. The fact that her over-powering physical growth greatly conflicted with her immature inner-growth of emotions added to her struggle. She was reluctant in accepting the fact that she was on the verge of entering adolescence, bordering on the fine line between the innocent, yet confusing age twelve to the more mature age of thirteen. It was interesting how McCuller was able to incorporate both drama and humor in her novel, both of which had a lasting effect on the outcome of the story. I enjoyed this novel, as I was able to relate to it's symbolic portrayal of the emotional maturation process that each individual experiences at one time or another during his or her life.

Carson McCullers has been my favorite author since I was thirteen and my father recommended I read a book by her. Now, four years later, I have read all of her short stories and all but one of her novels. By the reviews I have read, I believe maybe this book is not in the right category when it says "young adult" and should not be an option for a book report. Responding to this book with "whatever" and "no plot! " is not truthful and is a terrible injustice to it. This is a perfect "coming-of-age" novel, complete with the feeling of loss and the struggle to fit into pieces of a puzzle where you feel you do not belong. Typical McCullers - compassionate, painfully honest, and sensitive. While I'm obviously getting a little sappy, I do believe McCullers is the only author that I've ever read where I always feel like I am the protagonist - I felt like Frankie every word of this book, because McCullers creates the most realistic characters...let's be honest, kids - we were all "annoying", "selfish", "stupid", "unrealistic" and so on at the age of twelve.

The Member of the Wedding was overall a good book. It tells of a young girl's childhood naivety. It shows how, being a young misfit, she yearns to grow up and be accepted. Her wild actions are intriguing. It wasn't very realistic, however, that a soldier would try to pick up a 12 year old girl. But, the talk of her dreams were very realistic. All children dream of running away, but then they never actually do it. It shows Frankie's personality great, though, when she does try to runaway, taking her father's pistol with her. Throughout the book, all Frankie wanted to do was be accepted as a young adult rather than a child, and she goes through a lot to try and prove it. In the end, however, she remains naive.

This book presents a very bleak view of coming-of-age with a style that seems to be deliberately suggestive of a child's nightmare. The prose is impressionistic, almost dizzyingly so at times. The plot isn't much to brag about, but I suppose she wasn't going for plot. It was worth reading once, but I don't think I'll come back to it too often.

(As an aside, the reviewer who claimed it was unrealistic that a soldier might try to pick up a 12-year-old girl irritated me a little bit. First of all, some soldiers simply do want 12-year-old girls--just ask some of the folks in the Phillipines, Japan, Okinawa, Vietnam etc. Secondly, McCullers makes it abundantly clear that F. Jasmine is taller and looks older than she is. I'm not sure how anyone could've missed that.)

McCullers expressively expands on the nuances of adolescence in a plot that primarily spans over three days. Her style is exquisite and achingly realistic; after all, what does happen in a twelve-year-old's life in reality? The meaningful emptiness proves to be a tired meaningfulness. Final inferences on the meanings of the work are left to the readers, however. And what a life McCullers led!

i could not finish the book. every time i started i didn't get into it and had to stop, there is no point. the whole time i was waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. the only reason i read the member of the wedding is because i had to do a report on it. how can i do a reaport on a book so boring and stupid. i do not recamend this book at all to anyone (unless you have trouble sleeping)

I read this book because it was on the Publishing Triangle's List of 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels. It was the first time I'd read McCullers and her writing style, her ability to put together a beautiful sentence, is fantastic. The story reminded me of unhappy, subdued, female-character based version of Ray Bradbury's _Dandelion Wine_. However, I found the end of the story abrupt and out of character with the rest of the story: 100+ pages of slow story telling then a jump into the future for the ending, which comprises all of 3 pages. However if you are looking for glbt content, it is not really here; sure, Frankie is a tomboy, but that is as close as the story comes to glbt content.

Classic coming of age piece with a twist: the main character, Frankie Adams puts a new spin on the term 'quirky.'
I would not classify this as a Young Adult novel, however; it's a little too subtle, too dark for kids at the junior high level to fully appreciate.

Classic coming of age piece with a twist: the main character, Frankie Adams puts a new spin on the term 'quirky.'
I would not classify this as a Young Adult novel, however; it's a little too subtle, too dark for kids at the junior high level to fully appreciate.

Carson McCullers is a writer of such exquisite sensitivity and humane compassion, and all these qualities shine through every page of this wonderful work. Truly one of THE greatest works of American fiction, and one which, once read, will haunt you for the rest of your life. A masterpiece.

If you are an English teacher (particularly high school) PLEASE don't make your students as part of their literature assignment write an the store.com review. Most, if not all, of the negative reviews here were written by students who are clearly incapable of appreciating such literature as "The Member of the Wedding." For them to then be forced to write a review is just plain wrong, chiefly for the reason that it may steer others away from reading a novel that they ought to read. I wish I could place this note in an obvious place on the the store.com website.

I enjoyed the novel very much. It reflects with a crude reality the changes a girl has to undergo in order to achieve maturity. The imaginative world she creates and the neccesity to belong to someone or something is deeply moving. I would like to see what other people think of the novel, especially, the characterization of Frankie Addams.

Frankie Addams aka F, Jasmine has got some serious problems. Not only does everyone treat her like a baby but she fantasizes about traveling the world with her brother and sister-in-law. The majority of the book covers 3 days prior to the wedding, which is just a lot of talk. The wedding is covered in two pages which is a disapointment considering the other 99/100 of the book build up tension toward thus very unclimatic climax. With the exception of a couple passages (I ejoyed theare "they we of me") the book is full of useless mumble jumble.
Don't waste your brain energy!

The character wishes she could kill her self, and in truth, I wish she had. She hates the world and hates herself. At one point she smacks a guy she just met over the head with a water jug, killing him. She also wants to smash a frying pan on the head of her little cousin, and trys too...

Good Novel. Carson is a beautiful writer. This is another book that I had to read for class. It was good. I also learned that apparently Alaska has a ton of mosquitos just like the South, lol. Other than that it is about an awkward girl basically finding herself. Carson McCullers did a lot of her writing in my hometown, which is why I think the professor wanted us to read this book. Again as with most of the books on here, this is not something that I would normally choose for myself to read. I am more of a Chaucer lover myself and a lot of the older works such as Beowulf, and a lot of the satires and such from Pope, Lady Montague, etc. I was able to read through this book though relatively easily, and I do not have any complaints about it being a hard read. I was very well updated throughout by the writer about what was happening so I didn't get lost anywhere in it. There is a little bit of a tear jerker within the pages, however that is common in a lot of books. Overall, I would read it again if I had more free time. I kept the book so that says a lot

Great book great movie great play. One of my absolute favorites I totally understood but this young girl was going through I actually went through the very same thing when I was around her age maybe even younger. I would always be enthralled and my breath just taken away when I would go to a wedding. Because I wanted to be the bride I wanted to be married and I always envied the bride. And how great it must feel to go and be whisked away by a wonderful husband. I wanted the fairytale at such a young age. And I remember Saturdays kids would always go to the mall and to the movies with their friends and family and I would remember feeling so left out because there were many Saturdays where I was just sitting home with nothing to do and back then there was no cable there was no VHS or dvd. And I remember the loneliness of The Emptiness in the boredom the extreme boredom to the point where I would sit on my grandmother's porch and just watch Cars Go by. I so totally understood the term well that this young girl was going through. This book is so well written so well performed. And just as Ethel Waters had sang old hymns so did my grandmother. Just a phenomenal story