Customer Reviews

An American Family: The Baby with the Curious Markings

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I didn't find this "longish short story (novella)" to be one of Harry Crews' better offerings, it was nice to read something new by this American legend. IF you are contemplating reading CREWS - don't start here. Read A Feast of Snakes or Body or his autobiography to get a feel for the writer. IF you can get a hold of The Gospel Singer or A Hawk is Dying - even better. HOWEVER - don't discount this work! It has its place in his body of works. Be prepared for the violence - not for the squeamish. Enough said. BUY this book! You won't regret it!

I am a huge fan of Harry Crews. I think I own all is books. An American Family is certainly a Crews novel, but alas, not one of his best. A great start that just sort of peters out at the end.

Being a Harry Crews fan for over 30 years now I am very happy with An American Family--my only gripe is it's far, far too short. By contrast this is not by any means his greatest novel. But after waiting 8 years for Harry to release something, anything, I am more than happy. This has so many of Harry Crew's favorite things in it dogs, karate, scars...the Major reminds me of Duffy. Harry Crews is the finest living Southern Gothic writer--hell greatest writer--working today. If you're a Crews fan then this is a book for you--probably really for die hard fans though. This is not a good book to read as an introduction to his work--maybe try A Feast of Snakes or Body. I am happy to have this is my Harry Crews collection! Harry where is the follow up to A Childhood; the biography of a place? please let us read us!

I'm a huge Crews fan. (A Feast of Snakes and Celebration are my favorites.) An American Family is like a parody of his earlier works; feeling disjointed and aimless. It's all the surface elements without the whiff of deeper implication. (Celebration haunted me for years, seeming mythic somehow.) Color me sad about this short novel.

I thought that Harry Crews' reunion with his collection of characters over the years was going to be his last book - it should have been. "An American Family" is a longish violent story at best - at worst it's an idea without much to hold it together. Many authors don't know when to quit - it's too bad Harry Crews had to be another one of them.

This is not so much a novel as a long story: barely 100 small pages with big print. In my opinion Harry Crews is the greatest living English-language novelist; unfortunately, this is one of his lesser works, if not the least of his works. If you already have everything by Harry Crews, try the DVD Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus. This is a pseudo-documentary about the South in which Harry Crews plays the cracker mystic.

This novel may be short but not short on crazy characters that Harry Crews is know for. Violent- yes, sexy-yes, crazy-definitly!
A wild ride and a fun read. YOU WON'T BE BORED!!!