<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Souther Renaissance continues
Review: Debates about the waning brilliance of Southern litterature can be silenced after reading Harry Crews (I recommend as much of his work as possible, but the Reader is a good place to start). There is none of the sentimental, 'local-color' work of, say, Fannie Flagg or Rebecca Wells in Harry Crews's work. Harry Crews's work is like a rabid pit bull that bites and won't let go. His brilliance and artistry as writer are coupled with a sharpness that cuts into institutions and beliefs, exposing them and questioning them. Few shibboleths of America can escape. Find Harry Crews's work. Buy Harry Crews's work.
Rating: 
Summary: A new twist on an old tradition
Review: If you like the bizarre "Southern Gothic" of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor -- and if you appreciate thoughtful variations on established themes -- then Harry Crews is a novelist well worth your time. He'll probably never make it into the canon, but his work compares favorably with the best American postmodernists, and this is one time when it's best to forget what your English teacher tells you and form your own opinion. Unlike some of the postmodernists, Crews's startling originality is always rooted in palpably human experience; his characters, strange though they may be, never cease to function as PEOPLE, first and foremost. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate a vibrant style and a conscious twist on familiar literary traditions. One of the best American writers of the past 30 years.
Rating: 
Summary: Uncle Anesthesia
Review: The first story of this book was a gripping read. I enjoyed it very much. He and I had far different backgrounds and grew up in a completely different world but at times Crews portrays his feelings and world and makes it both common and familiar. I highly recommend the first story of the book. The others do not get such high regard. They are worth reading but very strange. His imagination got away from him, I think.
Rating:
Summary: Uncle Anesthesia
Review: The first story of this book was a gripping read. I enjoyed it very much. He and I had far different backgrounds and grew up in a completely different world but at times Crews portrays his feelings and world and makes it both common and familiar. I highly recommend the first story of the book. The others do not get such high regard. They are worth reading but very strange. His imagination got away from him, I think.
Rating:
Summary: Classic indeed
Review: This collection is a perfect introduction to Harry Crews. "A Childhood" - Crews' account of his home life in rural Georgia from birth to age six - is a touching, honest work and considered one of Crews' best. "The Gypsy's Curse," while not Crews' best work, is a solid novel that will prepare the casual reader for some of the recurring themes in his other books. "Car," the earliest of Crews' novels included here, reads in 2001 not so much as a condemnation of America's obsession with the automobile as it does an honest, painful look at human ambition and the desire for recognition. The accompanying essays complement the novels nicely.
Rating:
Summary: dude rocks!
Review: This dude rocks! He is funny and tragic, beautiful prose but a gritty easy read. i can't believe i went 23 years without ever hearing of him. Plus, he lives in Gainseville. 'Nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: A great friggin' writer.
Review: This was the first book I read by Harry Crews. After reading this I went out and bought every other Crews book still in print. After buying all the Crews books still in print I hit up the used bookstores for any of Crews's out of print titles. Harry Crews is excellent, and this is the absolute best place to start reading his work. He's an extremely descriptive writer, and a most entertaining storyteller, the best of both worlds. How Crews is able to think up the sort of characters he writes about is beyond me. He'll write about something so screwed up and whacked out that you know it could never happen, but at the same time makes you believe that what's going on really could happen. Crews has an excellent way of getting in your head and staying there, whether it be his novels or his essays Harry Crews is a true original. Once you read this I'm sure you'll start out on a search for anything and everything he's done.
<< 1 >>
| 
