Losing Battles (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Three generations of Granny Vaughn's descendants gather at her Mississippi home to celebrate her 90th birthday. Possessed of the true storyteller's gift, the members of this clan cannot resist the temptation to swap tales.

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Three generations of Granny Vaughn's descendants gather at her Mississippi home to celebrate her 90th birthday. Possessed of the true storyteller's gift, the members of this clan cannot resist the temptation to swap tales.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (August 11, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679728821
• ISBN-13: 978-0679728825
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #653,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Resistance to the wit and warmth in this novel is futile, April 15, 2002

By	D. Cloyce Smith (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In "Delta Wedding" Eudora Welty explored the dynamics of a family wedding; "Losing Battles," which greatly resembles her earlier novel, is a similar yarn about a family reunion. The cause for the celebration is Granny Vaughn's 90th birthday, but the relations also gather for her grandson Jack's return from prison and to learn that the schoolteacher who had taught (and tortured) three generations of Banner's inhabitants has passed away that very morning.

Told almost entirely in dialogue, this novel reads like one of the lengthiest plays ever written. Welty moves from one conversation to the next, recording every word spoken by every character, rarely describing what they are thinking or how they are feeling, and supplying the "action" only when necessary. I can imagine that some might find this technique tiresome, but I couldn't stop turning the pages. Yes, it's a long read, but it's an easy one.

The novel displays Welty's usual small-town humor: townfolk so closely bound that they are unable to hold a grudge (Jack even comes to the aid of the judge who sentenced him), rapid-fire and droll sarcasm among family members ("What's a morning yell for?" "Mainly to show you're still alive after the night."), and rural parochialism and ignorance that are more endearing than disquieting. The one surprise (for Welty) is the pure slapstick of the situation created when the judge's car teeters on the edge of an incline--which it does for most of the length of the novel--and the family's various attempts to bring it safely down; the last chapter is more Keystone Cops than her usual high-brow Faulkner-style wit.

Like the book's many outsiders (Jack's wife, the schoolteacher, an aunt newly married into the family, the judge and his wife), the reader ultimately succumbs to the charm and magnetism of the Banner community. Any attempt to resist is just a losing battle.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of a reunion, family secrets and southern hospitality, July 30, 2001

By	IRA Ross (HOBOKEN, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You have been cordially invited to attend Granny's 90th birthday celebration and family reunion. Present will be various aunts, uncles, brothers, cousins, children, grandchildren, and assorted eccentric (in the deep South sense) friends and neighbors. All are part of Granny's "extended family," which Ms. Welty makes sure includes her readers. The guest of honor is grandson Jack Renfro, who just escaped from prison 1 day ahead of the day he was to be officially released to enable him arrive at the celebration on time. Also there are his loving wife, Gloria, and their baby, Lady May. The judge who was responsible for putting Jack in prison and his constantly complaining and snooty wife are also "along for the ride". Also, present will be the spirits of relatives and friends past, especially that of the very recently deceased Miss Julia Mortimer, a much beloved and inspirational former teacher of many at the reunion. A very pleasant, but more often revealing, and sometimes shocking time is guaranteed for all.

Most of the "action" in _Losing Battles_ is presented through conversation which lends a real "you are there" feeling throughout. The novel ends with our attendance at Miss Julia's funeral, which is poignently and lovingly recounted by Ms. Welty. While I found Ms. Welty's style of writing often difficult is get through, I found the effort well worth it. Justly so, Ms. Welty's writing is meant be taken in slowly and savored to be truly appreciated.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great use of conversational humor, March 21, 1999

By A Customer

A friend of mine challenged me to find an example of a book that displays the one thing that remains Southern in our late 20th-century culture, and with Eudora Welty's "Losing Battles," I found it! Southern families have been strung across American since the end of World War II, but the one thing that keeps us together is the family reunion. Welty's work reconfirms this, and with her gift of conversational writing, created a masterpiece. If you're lonely for a bit of catching up on family information, even though the one depicted here may not be your own family, this one is it!