Rating: 
Summary: Obviously in the wrong age group...
Review: Carson McCullers has been my favorite author since I was thirteen and my father recommended I read a book by her. Now, four years later, I have read all of her short stories and all but one of her novels. By the reviews I have read, I believe maybe this book is not in the right category when it says "young adult" and should not be an option for a book report. Responding to this book with "whatever" and "no plot! " is not truthful and is a terrible injustice to it. This is a perfect "coming-of-age" novel, complete with the feeling of loss and the struggle to fit into pieces of a puzzle where you feel you do not belong. Typical McCullers - compassionate, painfully honest, and sensitive. While I'm obviously getting a little sappy, I do believe McCullers is the only author that I've ever read where I always feel like I am the protagonist - I felt like Frankie every word of this book, because McCullers creates the most realistic characters...let's be honest, kids - we were all "annoying", "selfish", "stupid", "unrealistic" and so on at the age of twelve.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel That Reads Like a Play
Review: I have read some of the other critiques of this novel, and it seems like people do not take into account the fact that this story takes place during WWII in a very small town and involves people of scant financial means and only basic education. With that in mind, it is not unlikely that a character like Frankie would develop and suffer the anguish of growing up. This complex novel would be better left to adults and not forced upon children in high school, for I can see how they would be frustrated in trying to read it. Anyway, this novel was apparently made into a play, and the book reads like one, with the three central characters taking center stage. McCullers' genius shines through this novel as well as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Might like the play better
Review: I just finished this book earlier today as required summer reading for my AP English class. I sort of understand why this book was a classic, and I know that most classic books are unconventional on purpose, but to me this book seemed to have some major flaws. First off: very few events occur in the first half of the book. It is mostly narrative -the constant descriptions of Frankie's surroundings and experience, while profound, are repeated over and over, basically filling up space. The book is short but took almost 5 days to read because it is soo dull at times.I understand that the message of the difficulty of adolescance and not feeling as though one belongs in the world was communicated through the extreme character, so it is probably not for kids to read because most would simply dismiss it as terrible writing(I know all my friends who are still reading it are) because they would fail to identify with Frankie/F.Jasmine/Frances. The play is probably better because the events would be condenced(less talking).
Rating:
Summary: Not what I thought it would be
Review: I read this book because it was on the Publishing Triangle's List of 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels. It was the first time I'd read McCullers and her writing style, her ability to put together a beautiful sentence, is fantastic. The story reminded me of unhappy, subdued, female-character based version of Ray Bradbury's _Dandelion Wine_. However, I found the end of the story abrupt and out of character with the rest of the story: 100+ pages of slow story telling then a jump into the future for the ending, which comprises all of 3 pages. However if you are looking for glbt content, it is not really here; sure, Frankie is a tomboy, but that is as close as the story comes to glbt content.
Rating: 
Summary: bittersweet coming-of-age
Review: I understand the cultural setting of this novel doesn't translate well into the 21st century, but it seems that perhaps many of the "reviewers" do not grasp the significance of the historical setting of the story. A young girl growing up, motherless, and only with her father and housekeeper, in the mid-20th century south. Larger, close-knit families were the staple of this time frame, and not being part of one may have contributed to her being outcast and socially inept. Frankie had obviously grown too quickly from grade-school tomboy to awkward adolescent and had no close peers to learn from. Anyone who can recall being 12 -- at least in a less jaded time -- will understand the feeling of being "special and different." Frankie knew something had to change, but was uncertain where to start. With Jarvis, her adored (and absentee) older brother, she found an icon to follow. It made perfect sense to her, that - now that she was turning the corner to adulthood, and he was returning from the service, she could renew her family bond with him. Berenice tried to communicate the folly of this thinking to Frankie, but as with any rebellious youth, her advice was ignored. Frankie's father was very much a man of the times...preoccupied with his business and secure in the belief that Berenice would take care of his daughter. The classical part of the story is the painful revelation of the truth which finally tames Frankie. The sad loss of her small cousin, John Henry, is obviously a metaphor for the loss of her own childhood - followed by the bittersweet acceptance of friends her own age, who Frankie finally "sees" with new eyes.
Rating:
Summary: bittersweet coming-of-age
Review: I understand the cultural setting of this novel doesn't translate well into the 21st century, but it seems that perhaps many of the "reviewers" do not grasp the significance of the historical setting of the story. A young girl growing up, motherless, and only with her father and housekeeper, in the mid-20th century south. Larger, close-knit families were the staple of this time frame, and not being part of one may have contributed to her being outcast and socially inept. Frankie had obviously grown too quickly from grade-school tomboy to awkward adolescent and had no close peers to learn from. Anyone who can recall being 12 -- at least in a less jaded time -- will understand the feeling of being "special and different." Frankie knew something had to change, but was uncertain where to start. With Jarvis, her adored (and absentee) older brother, she found an icon to follow. It made perfect sense to her, that - now that she was turning the corner to adulthood, and he was returning from the service, she could renew her family bond with him. Berenice tried to communicate the folly of this thinking to Frankie, but as with any rebellious youth, her advice was ignored. Frankie's father was very much a man of the times...preoccupied with his business and secure in the belief that Berenice would take care of his daughter. The classical part of the story is the painful revelation of the truth which finally tames Frankie. The sad loss of her small cousin, John Henry, is obviously a metaphor for the loss of her own childhood - followed by the bittersweet acceptance of friends her own age, who Frankie finally "sees" with new eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: Mind-numbing garbage.
Review: I've read all sorts of books throughout my educational career...from James Joyce to dry sociological texts. I've read books so dull I could feel them sapping my life energy.
Never before, though, have I had to suffer through a book as mind-numbingly awful as 'Member of the Wedding.'
Mere words cannot communicate how bad this book really is. It follows the pathetic, worthless existence of Frankie, the most unlikeable, irritating, sorry excuse for a human being ever to disgrace a piece of literature.
This book reads like a bad Linkin Park video, and consists largely of Frankie whining about wanting to belong, and wanting to travel with her older brother, who is about to get married. The ONLY thing I can say for this book is that it is relatively well-written...obviously, Carson McCullers was a good writer. But Thomas Harris wrote 'Silence of the Lambs' and the he wrote 'Hannibal.' 'Hannibal' is a god-awful book, and it STILL doesn't approach the level of putridity reached by this claptrap.
Of course, many reviewers would have you believe that this book is about the awkwardness/isolation/loneliness of acolescence. Bull. I was an awkward/isolated/lonely teen, and I did strange things, but Frankie's actions are downright bizarre, inexplicable, and only serve to make you loathe her further.
For absolutely no reason, the author kills off a couple characters at the end, just to make sure that if you weren't suicidally depressed by the book by that point, you sure wouldn't have a reason to live after finishing the whole book.
Like I said, think bad Linkin Park song: garish, whiney, needlessly depressing, and completely pointless. There is no message here except that there is no hope, no moral except that life is empty, pointless, isolated, and lonely. I'm a big fan of literature/music/art that emphasizes such themes as isoltation and abandonment...and thus, I tend to enjoy such works even if they're pretty lousy.
This, however, was the bottom of the barrel in cheap, exploitative, pathetic, useless literature. If you want to read something that deals with isolation/abandonment/loneliness, read Eugene O'Neill's 'The Iceman Cometh' 'Long Day's Journey into Night' or 'The Hairy Ape' I promise you will find all much more well written and moving than this garbage.
In conclusion, when I finished reading this vile book, I hated the main character, I hated the human race, I hated the author responsible for my suffering; but most of all, I hated myself, for subjecting myself to this bloated corpse of a novel.
Read it on the toilet, or better yet read something GOOD and save this to use as toilet paper. Consider it an appropriate afterthought.
Rating:
Summary: English teachers, PLEASE NOTE
Review: If you are an English teacher (particularly high school) PLEASE don't make your students as part of their literature assignment write an amazon.com review. Most, if not all, of the negative reviews here were written by students who are clearly incapable of appreciating such literature as "The Member of the Wedding." For them to then be forced to write a review is just plain wrong, chiefly for the reason that it may steer others away from reading a novel that they ought to read. I wish I could place this note in an obvious place on the amazon.com website.
Rating:
Summary: Great characterizations of children
Review: Not many writers can characterize children realistically. Somehow a stylized silhouette emerges and the child fades in the background and the plot or adult characters take over the storyline and the children characters end up being nothing more than fluff. This is definately not one of those novels. Carson mcCullers writes almost with artistic persicion on her two most elaborate characters, F. Jasmine and John Henry West. I really cannot think of another story, maybe, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Conner, where the writer can get inside the mind of a child; evoking their unique thoughts and feelings with a sense of ease. John Henry West is one of the most well rounded and well written children I have ever read, and that is a great homage to her writing ability.
*I first read this at ten, can see that age or older reading it. Will have a intense impact on a sensitive pre teen reader.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: The Member of the Wedding was overall a good book. It tells of a young girl's childhood naivety. It shows how, being a young misfit, she yearns to grow up and be accepted. Her wild actions are intriguing. It wasn't very realistic, however, that a soldier would try to pick up a 12 year old girl. But, the talk of her dreams were very realistic. All children dream of running away, but then they never actually do it. It shows Frankie's personality great, though, when she does try to runaway, taking her father's pistol with her. Throughout the book, all Frankie wanted to do was be accepted as a young adult rather than a child, and she goes through a lot to try and prove it. In the end, however, she remains naive.
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