I needed a small paperback to take on a weekend hiking trip, and The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers fit the bill. Frankie is a 12-year-old in the 1940's who is extremely naïve by today's standards, thinking that she can join her brother and his bride on their honeymoon after the wedding. This fantasy is the focal point of the story, as it represents an opportunity for Frankie to escape her friendless, motherless life. Frankie's maid Berenice tries to alter Frankie's expectations for the outcome of the wedding in as compassionate a manner as possible, without being condescending, but to no avail. Frankie innocently imagines a future of exotic travels with the newlyweds and bestows on herself a level of pseudo-sophistication, renaming herself F. Jasmine in Part 2 of the book. (She is Frances in Part 3.) In her attempt to appear more worldly, Frankie attracts the attention of a drunken soldier and foolishly places herself in a dangerous position. I found this novel much more enjoyable than The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. This book is almost humorous, in an embarrassing coming-of-age sort of way. My favorite paragraph is in the first few pages where the author describes a biscuit man (like a gingerbread man from biscuit dough) that has been taken from the oven. The biscuit man's features have all run together as it baked and expanded. Perhaps this is a metaphor for gaining maturity and leaving childhood quirks behind. Or perhaps it's just a dandy piece of writing.
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