Much of THE PONDER HEART is narrated.

The section that comes closest to being in scene is a trial in which the narrator’s uncle is accused of murdering his wife. At times, the narration is difficult to understand as the story is told with one voice and that voice bleeds into the voices of others.

The narrator also exhibits a casual racism that offers readers a glimpse into her world. The racism is so ingrained that it seems natural to her, something she doesn't have to struggle against. She is completely oblivious to it. For instance, her uncle, who clearly doesn't understand the value of money, is described as “just like your uncle …,” while a black man who also doesn't value money is referred to as “…the slowest, most brainless old negro man.”

Loyalty taken to an extreme becomes a problem. The niece defends her uncle even at his worst, adhering to the principle of “my family right or wrong.” The theme or takeaway is rather subtle. Truth becomes a casualty of loyalty, and all the crazy antics serve to obfuscate this theme.

The uncle’s habit of giving away money creates a rift between himself and others. People take his money, but in the end, they are embarrassed for both him and themselves. Taking money from Uncle Ponder is like eating something that initially tastes sweet but then leaves a sour taste, like saccharin.

First published in 1954, The Ponder Heart is a truly charming novel that delves into the life of a wealthy Mississippi family.

It centers around the story of Uncle Daniel Ponder, as narrated by his niece, Edna Earle, who operates the Beulah Hotel in the small town of Clay.

Uncle Daniel, despite having the'sweetest disposition' like a Southern gentleman of the old school, is rather simpleminded and childlike in his actions. So much so that Grandpa Ponder had him confined to an asylum. However, Uncle Daniel managed to escape shortly after. He then impulsively marries Miss Teacake Magee, but their union doesn't endure, and Grandpa Ponder takes him back to the asylum. Once again, he gets out soon and marries a seventeen-year-old girl named Bonnie Dee Peacock from the countryside.

Bonnie Dee is described as "a little thing with yellow fluffy hair and she was no bigger than a minute."

Tragically, Bonnie Dee dies under mysterious circumstances, which leads to one of the most informal and entertaining trials in fiction, bringing this delightful tale to its fitting climax.

Boring

This piece of writing is truly lackluster. There is no semblance of a plot to engage the reader. Instead, it consists of a mere jumble of random thoughts and aimless chatter. It's as if a lady is just going on and on, droning about her rather uninteresting uncle who lived in Mississippi during the 1940s. We hear about his daily activities, which seem to be nothing more than mundane and uneventful. There is no excitement, no drama, no real substance to hold our attention. It's a tiresome read that fails to offer any real value or entertainment. One can't help but feel a sense of boredom creeping in as they plow through these pages of mindless drivel.

At this juncture, I have perused all of Welty's (albeit very few) novels, with the exception of Losing Battles (which I am on the verge of commencing). This particular one stands out as an oddity within the collection.

Similar to Optimist's Daughter and Delta Wedding, she possesses that precise sense of place. Although the town is not the main focus to a great extent, it still feels inhabited and alive around Daniel and Edna. Moreover, the measured clarity of psychological character is present. In this case, it adds an additional layer as it is written in the first person. Consequently, the characterization is one-sided, yet there is a warmth in Edna's narration that bathes Daniel and Grandpa in a gentle light. Edna is also characterized almost entirely through her narration, and this is as well-plotted and developed as Welty's more standard direct descriptions.

However, unlike the others, this one is actually a light comedy and is rather amusing (not in a side-splitting way but in an entertaining manner). There are moments of humor, typically through conversations or the recounting of a humorous event, in the other Welty novels, but this one is written from cover to cover as a comedy.

I like Edna as a narrator, and I believe she is perfectly well-developed. Nevertheless, placing all the words into a single character seems to have constricted Welty's typically beautiful prose. This deficiency makes this fairly short novel (or perhaps novella?) feel weaker, or at least lighter, than the others I have read.

Nonetheless, I am becoming quite excited for her short stories. In just a handful of novels, she has展示了a range of styles and a depth of skill. I am intrigued to read more variety from her, especially since she is primarily renowned for her short stories rather than novels.

This is the story of a trial regarding the death of a second wife. However, it is truly about the crazy actions of the husband, Uncle Daniel. He gives away all his possessions and constantly desires to talk and be the center of attention.

Primarily, it is about the narrator, her voice, and her perspective. I didn't have a great deal of affection for this particular story. Nevertheless, Welty has such remarkable command over language and voice that it was still enjoyable to read.

This is the first lengthy piece of Welty's that I have read, and I'm not certain if it will prompt me to rush to the library for more. However, I'm glad that I gave her work a try.

Perhaps with further exploration of her writing, I will come to appreciate her unique style and storytelling even more. Only time will tell if I will become a devoted fan of Eudora Welty.

My first encounter with Eudora Welty's work was through her novel.

I had previously read a couple of her short stories, but I found them a bit too oblique for my taste. However, this novel was quite straightforward.

Right from the first sentence, Edna Earle Ponder grabs you by the lapels and holds your attention firmly until she's finished telling her story.

She shares a touching and hilarious account of her eccentric Uncle Daniel, covering various aspects of his life such as his loves, deficiencies, surprising brilliance, and helpless generosity.

The novel vividly captures the parochial small-town Mississippi life around 1950.

Nevertheless, I was put off by the frequent casually derogatory references to Negroes, which were always assumed to be routine common knowledge.

I believe these are part of the characterization of Edna Earle and not the views of Eudora Welty herself.

Overall, despite this drawback, the novel offers a unique and engaging look into a bygone era and the lives of its characters.

"O Coração dos Ponders" is a family story told by Edna Earle Ponder. At the beginning, only her grandfather Ponder and her uncle Daniel are left.

The narrative is dominated by the erratic behaviors of the eccentric uncle Daniel, which swing between normality and madness, in two crucial scenarios: the Hotel Beulah, which Edna inherited from her uncle, and the ancestral Ponder house.

It is a never-ending series of hilarious stories, between the comic and the tragic, in the imaginative and poetic writing of Eudora Welty.

Edna's account takes the reader on a journey through the idiosyncrasies of her family, revealing the complex relationships and the hidden secrets that lie beneath the surface.

The characters come alive on the page, with their unique personalities and quirks, making the story both engaging and entertaining.

Overall, "O Coração dos Ponders" is a captivating tale that explores the themes of family, madness, and inheritance, through the eyes of a young woman trying to make sense of her unusual family history.

I came across this wonderful book in a second-hand bookstore.

And what a remarkable find it was! It was my very first encounter with the works of Eudora Welty, and I must say that I truly enjoyed it.

The book was short, yet it was extremely funny. In fact, I found myself so engrossed in it that I wished it could have lasted longer.

The author's writing style was captivating, and her ability to create such vivid and entertaining characters was truly impressive.

After reading this book, I have no doubt that I will be reading more of Eudora Welty's works in the future.

She has definitely become one of my favorite authors, and I can't wait to explore more of her literary masterpieces.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a lighthearted and enjoyable read.

It is sure to bring a smile to your face and leave you with a lasting impression.

Club Read:

In the initial paragraph of the novel, Edna Earle aims to clarify things about Daniel Ponder for us: 'My Uncle Daniel is just like your uncle, if you have one - only he has a weakness. He loves society and gets carried away'. Just like my uncle, you claim? Shortly after her proclamation, we commence to understand that, in Daniel's instance, 'carried away' lies between a sort of down-home, benevolent eccentricity and behavior that might be characterized in other realms as 'clinical' or 'institutional'. Edna Earle wouldn't be familiar with those terms; most of the inhabitants of Clay, Mississippi, to their credit, wouldn't know them either. Edna Earle has her own method of 'assessing' things - and people. She labels Grandpa's conspiracy with the Judge to take Uncle Daniel to the asylum as'monkey foolishness' and wants no part of it as she is sharing a family history, one eccentric member of the clan - 'the smart one' - narrating a loving tale about another, 'the sweetest, most unspoiled thing in the world', both the story and the man. Crazy as it may seem, narrative license here is not only allowed but encouraged.

As much as I was enthralled by Edna Earle's humorous storytelling, I found myself gradually slipping into the mindset of a skeptic and non-believer. There were a few queries (my library copy additionally had missing pages): by what procedure did a couple like Bonnie Dee Peacock and Daniel Ponder obtain a marriage license, let alone a 'trial' marriage license; how did Daniel's wife fund her spending sprees, even considering the $25 provided by Edna Earle every week; what reasoning - or ambition - led the fiery county attorney Dorris Gladney to believe he could successfully prosecute gentle Uncle Daniel on a murder charge; and why on earth did Eloise Clanahan at the bank permit Daniel to withdraw the Ponder fortune as a means to 'cheer him up'???? It's difficult to say, aside from noting that none of these events could have transpired outside the closed and familiar world of the small town where native 'characters' create their own logic and we are grateful that fellow eccentrics from the same town can report on them. Anyway, to Edna Earle, posing questions and citing bothersome details is a violation of manners and can be compared to the occasional traveler at the Beulah who would interrupt Daniel's own storytelling with requests for clarifications and such, behaving just like 'a Yankee'. And no one desires to face Edna Earle when she is telling her story and one is acting like a Yankee, especially the Yankees themselves.

Sigh. Oh, Eudora. How I love her. Truly, I do. It has been ages since I last read this, not since high school in fact. And back then, I don't think I fully grasped how tone deaf it was. I don't believe Eudora was a racist. I think it was simply the time and place in which she grew up. After all, the narrator who spouts such things as "Negros entering through the back of the house" is meant to be completely and utterly ridiculous.

However, if you are seeking a better tale by Eudora Welty about a character who is truly outlandish, then I highly recommend reading "Why I Live at the P.O." The voice in that story is so much more engaging and vivid. It brings the characters and the story to life in a way that this one perhaps fails to do.

So, give "Why I Live at the P.O." a try and see for yourself the true genius of Eudora Welty's writing.

I really liked the voice of the novella. It had a certain charm and style that drew me in. The general plot was also quite engaging, keeping my interest throughout. However, there is one aspect that really detracts from the overall experience, and that is the casual period racism.

It's quite disheartening to see such offensive and inappropriate attitudes presented in a work of literature. It makes it difficult to fully enjoy and appreciate the other aspects when this kind of prejudice is so blatant.

It's important to recognize and condemn such examples of racism, even if they are set in a different time period. We should strive for a more inclusive and equal society, and works of literature can play an important role in promoting these values.

Despite my enjoyment of the voice and plot, the casual period racism in the novella is a significant flaw that cannot be ignored.

Quite simply, this is a comic masterpiece crafted by a master storyteller. One might wonder if there is an award for humor named after Mark Twain. In fact, there is such an award, called "The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor." However, it was only inaugurated 15 years ago and has only been awarded once to someone who is primarily a writer and not a performer. This explains why Welty never received it. But here's the thing: even though I have no actual power to do so, I am hereby posthumously bestowing this award upon Eudora Welty. Her works are filled with such wit, charm, and humor that they truly deserve this recognition. It's a shame that she didn't receive the award during her lifetime, but perhaps this small gesture can help to honor her contribution to the world of American humor.