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Carson McCullers is one of the greatest American writers who ever lived.
Several other biographies have been written about the complicated details
of
her life --- her marriage and remarriage to an alcoholic writer, Reeves
McCullers, her own battles with addiction, severe illness, her
manipulative
attitude with friends and family, her difficult relationship with her
mother,
her massive international success, her early death. Josyane Savigneau, a
French journalist, has written a strange biography of this artist,
entitled
simply, Josyane Savigneau.
Savigneau's style is very conversational, which catches you off-guard when
you are in the midst of reading the personal letters and writings of the
writer about whom the book is intended. Savigneau often refers to
biographer
Virginia Spencer Carr's book about McCullers, alerting the audience to
what
she considers to be the prejudices of the other biographer. It is a
strange
way to allay the details of a life about one person to an audience by
making
constant references to another book about the same person. I don't know if
part of the problem is the fact that Josyane Savigneau has been
translated from the French and, perhaps, in the translation, something
literally has been lost. But, ultimately, I think it is the fault of
Savigneau that the span of McCullers's life is continually interrupted by
the
biographer's strange asides and questions, as if this book were written
for a
study group of children or something. It is off-putting and takes away
from
the fascinating intricacies of McCullers's work and life experiences.
I would not recommend Josyane Savigneau to anyone who already has a
respect for and knowledge of her work or life. As a lifelong fan of the
woman
who brought us THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER and A MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, I
found Savigneau's take on McCullers's life irritating. If it is the first
time you have ever heard of Carson McCullers, perhaps it won't be quite as
disturbing to you. I would more highly recommend the book Savigneau
constantly attempts to undermine, Virginia Spencer Carr's biography of
McCullers. It is far easier to follow the path of this interesting life in
that CARSON McCULLERS: A Life than it is in this one.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
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