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dzengota's review against another edition
2.0
The absolute audacity of Agee to have a literal 90 page section consisting nearly exclusively of highly detailed (and honestly occasionally beautiful) descriptions of houses and to follow it with a section clarifying the inherently limited utility of description as a form of art and poetry.
Famous Men's greatest weakness is its uncertain identity. Sometimes Agee is a beautiful poet, espousing the tragic beauty of these share croppers, waxing philosophical about the importance of education and the limited scope of contemporary morality on people too impoverished to engage with it. Sometimes Agee is the world's most dedicated lister, every type of wood, cutlery handle, hole in the ceiling, moth eaten cloth, grease stained dress and rusted-spring bed must be listed and located in such insane specify that it long, long, looooong loses its impact.
Famous Men's greatest weakness is its uncertain identity. Sometimes Agee is a beautiful poet, espousing the tragic beauty of these share croppers, waxing philosophical about the importance of education and the limited scope of contemporary morality on people too impoverished to engage with it. Sometimes Agee is the world's most dedicated lister, every type of wood, cutlery handle, hole in the ceiling, moth eaten cloth, grease stained dress and rusted-spring bed must be listed and located in such insane specify that it long, long, looooong loses its impact.
linda48's review against another edition
5.0
When I was in college, this book topped my list of best-loved books. Perhaps it's age, perhaps it's life, but I would not say that now.
Don't get me wrong - this is still a powerful book detailing the lives of tenant farmers in Alabama during 1936 and the devastating effects that poverty has on families, their social situations (including education and medical services), and futures. People are born into their lives, with no hope of change, no hope for a better life. It's heartwrenching to hear of the children who know what they are going to be and what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. And the parents who know that this is the best they can do for their children and for themselves - think of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song "16 Tons". They, too, owe their souls to the company store, but in this case it's the landowners who take the major portion of the proceeds from their crops. And God forbid that there be a storm that ruins the cotton or corn, because they will simply go deeper and deeper in debt. Also listen to the song "Emma" by Richard Buckner on his album "Bloomed" to hear the story of Emma Woods detailed in the book - and to hear the desperation of the lives of the women who live in this misery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHCo_K89Fw
The problem I had was wading through the Faulkner-esque writing and the sentences that go on for paragraphs and paragraphs (just when you think you are coming up on a period, it turns into a colon) and in some cases for pages and pages. I also had problems working through Agee's existentialist rants and stream of consciousness writing. In some cases, these techniques were overwhelming and in others, they were necessary in order to show how a man's spirit and body can be broken by the abuse of power.
There's no doubt that James Agee (also the screenwriter of The African Queen and author/screenwriter of A Death in the Family) has given the world a powerful look at poverty and need. Together with Walker Evans stirring photographs of the three families from the book, it is a classic of the sociology of the rural South.
Don't get me wrong - this is still a powerful book detailing the lives of tenant farmers in Alabama during 1936 and the devastating effects that poverty has on families, their social situations (including education and medical services), and futures. People are born into their lives, with no hope of change, no hope for a better life. It's heartwrenching to hear of the children who know what they are going to be and what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. And the parents who know that this is the best they can do for their children and for themselves - think of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song "16 Tons". They, too, owe their souls to the company store, but in this case it's the landowners who take the major portion of the proceeds from their crops. And God forbid that there be a storm that ruins the cotton or corn, because they will simply go deeper and deeper in debt. Also listen to the song "Emma" by Richard Buckner on his album "Bloomed" to hear the story of Emma Woods detailed in the book - and to hear the desperation of the lives of the women who live in this misery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHCo_K89Fw
The problem I had was wading through the Faulkner-esque writing and the sentences that go on for paragraphs and paragraphs (just when you think you are coming up on a period, it turns into a colon) and in some cases for pages and pages. I also had problems working through Agee's existentialist rants and stream of consciousness writing. In some cases, these techniques were overwhelming and in others, they were necessary in order to show how a man's spirit and body can be broken by the abuse of power.
There's no doubt that James Agee (also the screenwriter of The African Queen and author/screenwriter of A Death in the Family) has given the world a powerful look at poverty and need. Together with Walker Evans stirring photographs of the three families from the book, it is a classic of the sociology of the rural South.
habeasopus's review against another edition
3.0
I have rarely encountered a more uneven pairing of material than the two novels included in this volume. I was reading A Death in the Family at the time I received word of my own grandmother's death and found it exceedingly poignant and comforting. There is simply no "right" way to grieve. Death is entirely alien to our conception of self, so of course it causes us to question nearly everything in our world. I felt a great connection to the young protagonist, and nearly every other character in the novel. I found Agee's treatment to be sensitive and fair.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, on the other hand, felt like something that was banged out on a tight deadline and suffered for want of an editor willing to stand up to the author. Certainly, there were flashes of brilliant prose and excruciatingly detailed descriptions, but many arguments were rambling, disjointed, and lent no support to the work as a whole. All that being said, I recognized echoes of some of the decorative and household details as being present in the lives of my great-grandparents so I give full credit for a faithful rendition of conditions as Agee found them. I found myself outraged on behalf of the poor farmers and their families, but also frustrated with the indulgent writing style.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, on the other hand, felt like something that was banged out on a tight deadline and suffered for want of an editor willing to stand up to the author. Certainly, there were flashes of brilliant prose and excruciatingly detailed descriptions, but many arguments were rambling, disjointed, and lent no support to the work as a whole. All that being said, I recognized echoes of some of the decorative and household details as being present in the lives of my great-grandparents so I give full credit for a faithful rendition of conditions as Agee found them. I found myself outraged on behalf of the poor farmers and their families, but also frustrated with the indulgent writing style.
amodernisttriestoread's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
amanda_woodbury's review against another edition
1.0
While the actual writing is beautiful and the included pictures are interesting, nothing else about this book is worthwhile. Along with long tangential details, the author describes teenage girls and children in erotically charged ways. I would rather not worry that children in poverty were being groomed by the author, thanks.
jenna0010's review against another edition
4.0
GOSH GOSH OH James Agee's words here, so exhaustive, and Walker Evans's photos - just gasp. The beds and mantles and fields and bodies. The dust, too. The children here. It is all so precisely here at the same time as Agee asks these huge questions about art and life and existence. There were a few breaks wherein Agee describes how being on the road for so long documenting lives for the Farm Security Administration made him long for women and it made me feel a bitttttt iffy.