Rating: 
Summary: Nice - At some parts
Review: I borrowed this book from the library upon seeing it's cover and reading what it was about. I believe that Agee is very good at suspense. He spends two chapters devoted to Mary and Hannah discussing if Jay is dead or not. It's very heartbreaking. But, the only thing is, the character of Mary, when she found the news that he was dead, she and her family didn't act like they had just lost a loved one. Mary acted normal and her sweetness got rather annoying at times. it almost seemed like a 50's commercial the way she talked.
Rating: 
Summary: Contains the extraordinary "Knoxville: Summer of 1915"
Review: I came to this novel after reading extensively in the film criticism of James Agee, who was easily one of the great reviewers the genre has seen. As one critic pointed out, in his criticism, Agee takes the reader into the film, and not to concerns extraneous to the film, like so many reviewers (such as Pauline Kael, who writes beautifully, but whose comments sometimes seem to have very little to do with the film in question). After reading his film criticism, I have to confess that I was somewhat disappointed by this novel. It was good, but it did not stand out in any way. So, if all this volume had to offer was the novel itself, I would be able to recommend it, but without too much enthusiasm. But thankfully, that is not the case. In addition to the text of the novel A DEATH IN THE FAMILY, the volume contains as a sort of preface one of the most extraordinary short pieces in 20th century American fiction, the amazing "Knoxville: Summer of 1915." This piece was not written as part of the novel, but the editors of the volume wisely included it because both dealt with Knoxville. Also, the piece is so amazing that I am certain that they also wanted to include it so that it would not so easily get lost. I read A DEATH IN THE FAMILY once. I have probably read "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" a good dozen times. So, if the idea of purchasing a book for the sake of a mere five pages seems extravagant, ask yourself, how many books do we reread bits of even a couple of times? The piece, which was turned into a marvelous composition for voice by Samuel Barber, records the impressions of a typical summer evening, with the narrator a young child. The descriptions are so precise and tactile, that the reader almost feels as if his or her own impressions are being recorded. And despite being merely the record of an average evening moving from late afternoon to dusk to evening, Agee is able to make of it something universal and sad and metaphysical. There are many, many fine moments in this piece, from the first paragraph {beginning "We are talking now of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the time that I lived there so successfully disguised to myself as a child") to the absolutely amazing final paragraph (ending: "Those receive me, who quietly treat me, as one familiar and well-beloved in that home: but will not, oh, will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell me who I am"). I am not sure how strongly I would recommend this volume if it were for the novel alone, but anyone who loves great writing needs to own this volume so as to own one of the great short pieces in American literature.
Rating:
Summary: Death, religion, family and hurt feelings
Review: I do not know much about James Agee's personal history, but one wonders whether there was a degree of biography in this profound account of a family torn apart by an untimely death. The time and setting certainly fit with Agee's own upbringing. In any event, he poignantly captures the conflicting emotions of a wife who is trying to cope with the loss of her partner and mate in his prime, and how to reconcile that loss with her strong, self-effacing religious beliefs. The church, or religion in general, is not given a good face in this work, particularly in the guise of the Catholic Father, and in the struggle that Mary undergoes in trying to be strong and suppressing her emotional grief, in the name of that religion. I was appalled by the stern and unforgiving body language and words conveyed by the priest towards the young children who had just been given news of their father's death. His actions and attitudes may be a sign of those times, but the reactions of the children towards the priest, of guilt, shame and conflictedness, when all they should have felt was comfort and consolation, demonstrates the type of stern and unyielding religious arrogance that is at the heart of this story. Obviously, religious conflict had a long and divisive, in some senses unspoken, history in the family profiled here. Those differences exploded after the tragedy occurred. Also, the reactions and feelings of Rufus in particular, and also his younger sister, and his sense of pride and accomplishment in telling of his father's death to his schoolmates, is shocking, yet real. A child cannot adequately come to terms with the finality of death, and perhaps the saddest line in the book is Rufus pondering whether news of his father's death might prompt some of his schoolmates (who he obviously feels intimidated by and fearful of) to share their lunches with him. His reactions are bewildered, and his mother is unable to console him or help him cope with the devastation of his father's death, with she herself struggling with whether to grieve or praise God. This is a very profound work and while parts of it were difficult to access - some of the large parts in italics - the emotion was raw and real. It is a story I will remember for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: A well deserved Pulitzer winner
Review: I finished A Death in the Family last night and still have the feeling that I'm carrying it around within me. Agee's prose is some of the most beautiful I've ever read, and his power to translate those intuitive, often untranslatable moments of life into engaging paragraph after paragraph awed me. The book is worth buying for the beautiful prologue alone. This is definitely not a light read, and I found it difficult emotionally, but I am glad I read it and recommend it to anyone looking to be transported by great literature. May James Agee rest in peace.
Rating:
Summary: A book worth reading
Review: I first read A Death In The Family for a book report for my English class. At first, it started out slow and i wanted to quit, but i kept going and read the whole thing. When i finished the book, I realized that the book was one of the most touching books i have ever read. James Agee really brings the emotion of each character to life. I really recommend this book to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Even after 30 some years, it's still one of the best
Review: I first read this book in the mid-60's when I was still in high school - I read both the novel and the play that it became (All the Way Home). It was and still is one of my favorites and I am anxious to get my hands on a copy of the re-release of this wonderful story of a family and their loss. I'll read it again as if I were visiting with a long lost friend.
Rating: 
Summary: A Death in a BORING Family
Review: I never read anything this amazingly boring in my entire life. It may have won a Pulitzer Prize, but I sure as heck can't figure out why. This book just goes on and on ad nauseum. I was prepared to read all books that won Pulitzer Prizes, but after this I need to take a rest and get back to something INTERESTING.....I loathed this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Forced and dreary fiction
Review: I went into this book thinking that I would be captured by its originality and sentimentality, but found neither. The story was trite and exploitative. In addition, it almost entirely left out the decedent's blood relatives, which is curious given the circumstance's of Jay's death. Finally, the insertion of the uncompleted portion's of Mr. Agee's writings was forced. It was written in a different voice as although not meant to be part of the same work. An unfortunate editorial decision to include it.
Rating:
Summary: An emotionally moving novel.
Review: In "A Death in the Family," James Agee describes the pains and hardships endured by a family who has experienced a sudden death. Late one night, he is called to visit his father who is very near death. He leaves his warm bed to be by his father's side. The emergency turns out to be a mere false alarm, and Jay returns the next evening. Unfortunately, a technical problem causes the car to go out of control and jay is instantly killed in the accident. Jay's wife Mary and his two young children Rufus and Catherine are the focus of the novel as they react to the news. The heart-felt story is told through the eyes of Rufus, Mary and Jay's brother Ralph, which helps to personalize the evnt for the reader. Flashbacks are used by the author and placed randomly throughout the novel. These flashbacks personify Jay's character as a loving, devoted husband and father. Alhough overly descriptive and sometimes confusing, the flashbacks cause the reader to grow to regard Jay as a wonderful man. This style that Agee employs in his novel can be considered dull and boring. Without them, however, the novel as a whole would be meaningless. By enduring this difficult reading, one almost experience for him- or herself the anguish and grief of the family involved. Perhaps this poignancy expressed by Agee is due to his own experience with death when his father died. "A Death in the Family" left me heartbroken and deeply saddened. There were even points where I found myself near tears. Agee's writing made a deep impact on me. Anyone else who has experienced a death will feel the same way.
Rating:
Summary: Praise for the incredible depth and detail of the language
Review: In reading Agee's A Death in the Family again after 30 years, I discovered why it had compelled me when I read it as a young teenager: the power of Agee's language, his attention to the minute detail of grief, from inside to out--the way a child might, in the midst of her grief and fear, notice a robin on the front lawn; the way in which a family, dealing with shock and grief of a young family member, will find itself appreciating humor and at the same time wondering how to do the ordinary things of life. There should be more information on this writer and his work. I think he has captured grief and loss as well or better than any writer I've read.
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