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Cover of The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullersThe Member of the Wedding
Classic · Fiction, Classics, Young Adult

The Member of the Wedding

by Carson McCullers
1946 · 163 pages · Fiction
Critics' pick
≈ 4 hours to read · about 8 days at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

Frankie Addams, a bored twelve-year-old, is madly jealous of her brother's coming wedding.

Why it's worth reading

It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's an achingly real novel about the emotional turbulence of growing up, from the author of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

You'll love it if you liked

Good to know

It's a coming-of-age novel.

By the numbers

59.8Must-Read Score
  • Readers34 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Bestseller7 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Why it made the list

On the lists
Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read

Reads as

Moving

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

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Explore the best-of lists

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Quick answers

Is The Member of the Wedding worth reading?

Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,553 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 59.8 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is The Member of the Wedding about?

Frankie Addams, a bored twelve-year-old, is madly jealous of her brother's coming wedding.

How long does it take to read The Member of the Wedding?

About 4 hours (163 pages), or about 8 days at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after The Member of the Wedding?

If you liked it, try The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.