Great memoirs, determinedly inane fiction. ( )

Harry Crews' memoir A CHILDHOOD should be required reading for all human beings. It's sweet and sad and strange and reads like a long prose poem. ( )

Gypsy's Curse:

Well, this was different -- an irreverent little novella about a deaf-mute with no legs and how he allows a woman to ruin his peculiar life. The carnival freak-show aspect of the characters along with the rather crude, sarcastic humour reminded me almost of Stephen King. Our protagonist Marvin's cynicism was quite funny and could give Holden Caufield a run for his money anyday.

Entertaining, though very random. In general, I prefer works that have more important things to say. And I hate the N-word and miscogeny that seems to be a compulsory part of the Deep South canon. But I will admit to being drawn into this weird world and laughing aloud a few times -- especially at the 'Rose-Bud Special.' Outlandish!

The rest of the book:

His autobiography of his youth entitled 'Childhood: the Biography of a Place' was very well-written and held my interest throughout as it demystified growing up in a poor sharecropping family in rural Georgia during the depression. I wish I had read this before I tried to understand 'Tobacco Road,' Faulkner, or even 'Grapes of Wrath.'

His essays were also pretty good; but his novella 'Car' was rather pointless. Overall, I am glad I was introduced to Crews' writing; if only for his excellent memoir. ( )

this is a bargain of a read! Three of Crews' novels (complete)plus a couple of essays. Hard-to-find "The Gypsy's Curse" is here, as is "Car," and his autobiography: "A Childhood." Throw away your pre-conceived ideas of the gypsy's curse. the protagonist is a 3 and 1/2 foot misformed fellow who walks on his hands. and the curse is: "may you find the cunt that fits you." hey, it's not my word. It was interesting to note the similarities of Crews's childhood and that of a number of writers, including me. The sicknesses of childhood, the feeling of being an outsider, a "freak" (he writes about physical freaks a lot), and the wandering into drugs and alcohol in the youth. wrap all this up in harry's exquisite prose and you have a heluva read. ( )