- Mass Market Paperback: 12 pages
- Publisher: Penguin USA (P); Reissue edition (Oct 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140105158
- ISBN-13: 978-0140105155
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 5.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,699,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
RAY is thirty-three and he was born of decent religious parents, I say. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
RAY is thirty-three and he was born of decent religious parents, I say. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Barry Hannah, of Oxford, Mississippi, is no doubt one of the most gifted writers in America today. Ever since his debut with the bizarre coming-of-age novel "Geronimo Rex" and his now classic short story collection "Airships", Hannah has proven himself a master of the language and a worthy heir to the proud tradition of Southern fiction. In his prose are echoes of past masters such as Faulkner, Twain, and especially the grotesque side of Flannery O'Connor. During the past decade, Hannah has concentrated almost solely on his short fiction, which is also his strength.
"Ray", from 1980, is placed somewhere between novel, poetry, and short story. This is a novel unlike any you will ever read. There is hardly any plot, as is characteristic of Hannah's fiction, but the language and the characters are a rare treat to be cherished. The story is funny, rude, harsh, and heartbreakingly sad and beautiful. Hannah's anti-hero, Dr. Ray, is on a quest for life, liquor and women. The history of America runs in his veins, as he is caught in several decades, mixing the memory of Vietnam with that of the Civil War. And Ray is restless. He has his wife, but there is also the young Sister, for whom his heart burns. What to do, what to do...
With "Ray", Barry Hannah has created, not only his own masterpiece, but a modern classic. It is a small novel, but one which towers over most other American fiction of our time. Don't miss it!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is Barry Hannah's finest book, which is not saying a lot by itself. Much of his other work is drafty, self-absorbed, and worse -- boring. Ray is none of those things. Ray is short and interesting. It is written so well that it leaves you wishing that you could read the lines unwritten between sentenses. It is also, happily, not a book that you would want your mother to read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Barry Hannah's Finest Hour
3 Dec 1998
Format:Paperback
Wow, this is really something. With only 113 pages, Barry Hannah's "Ray" from 1980 is hardly a novel (someone called it one long redneck poem), but it does not really matter, all I know is that it is wonderful. The story, if there is any, is about Dr. Ray who tries to make sense of his life in the South, tries to hold on to his wrecked marriage, while pursuing his desire, the vulnerable beautiful Sister (who reminds me of Faulkner's Caddy from "The Sound and the Fury"). The story is filled with grotesque O'Connor-like characters, a dark gallows humor, and an admirable sense of poetry and musical language. Barry Hannah is no doubt one of the most talented writers in America today, and although most of his other works are fiction on a very high level, none of them reach the heights where "Ray" soars as a lone eagle.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Fasten your Seat Belt!
6 Jun 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
You can't help but find the anger, comedy, raw sexuality, confused emotions, and healing a fresh voice in American Literature.
Nothing is even remotely sugar coated in this fast paced novel.
Ray lives on the edge with a fanatic frenzy which borders on lunacy while possessing the steely nerves of an ACE fighter pilot.
Fasten your seat belt!
Nothing is even remotely sugar coated in this fast paced novel.
Ray lives on the edge with a fanatic frenzy which borders on lunacy while possessing the steely nerves of an ACE fighter pilot.
Fasten your seat belt!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
a short, more bitter than sweet, good read
27 Feb 2004
Format:Paperback
Short enough to be a great "filler" book when you're between novels, Ray by Barry Hannah ends up being worth the read. It is written almost like journal entries of a man with enough rotten memory to be spilling his guts to a much-needed psychologist. This book is like the average southern man's Bible, filled with the honest greusomeness of every day life in a backwoods town. Loose women, alcohol, love, hate, murder, and death.
Ray, a doctor and war survivor, recaps on his life which consists of mostly adultery and drinking, injected with a few small crisis moments that keep the book interesting.
Very very honest, well written, Barry Hannah couldn't have verbalized the events in this book better!
Ray, a doctor and war survivor, recaps on his life which consists of mostly adultery and drinking, injected with a few small crisis moments that keep the book interesting.
Very very honest, well written, Barry Hannah couldn't have verbalized the events in this book better!
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