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A review by linda48
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee
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.