A review by davidabrams
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

I came to James Agee late in life, after decades of fellow readers insisting I "must" read LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN before I die. The entry in James Mustich's "1,000 Books to Read Before You Die" only reinforced that prescription. And so several months ago, I succumbed to my curiosity and dove in, ready to praise men famous and not-so-famous. What I didn't expect was to be greeted by a Wall of Words: Agee took the reins off his pen and just let it fly across the page! On most pages, every white space was filled with brick and mortar from that wall o' words. Digressive, full of detours, soaked with rumination and lust, "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" is unlike anything you've ever read and, in some cases, wanted to read. It's not what I expected and, even after taking it slow through these pages, I'm still trying to decide if it was worth my time or not. Your country mileage may vary.