The Man Who Loved Cemeteries is captivating due to Gurganus effective
use of short anecdotes and vivid imagery in the telling of his story. Gurganus
explains the significance of Pineview Cemetery with such detail that I felt I
was able to better comprehend the role this cemetery played in his life.
Pineview Cemetery is where Gurganus inhaled his fist cigarette, “soul-kissed” a
girl for the first time, and slept when he was locked out of the house for
missing curfew. Pineview Cemetery has provided Gurganus with a safe environment
throughout his boyhood, leaving zero wonder as to why he loved the cemetery so.
Gurganus is also
quite humorous with his writing. He paints this wonderful picture of having to
sleep “atop a lady’s practiced slab” one night when his father locked him out
of his house, and then completes the story with a one-word sentence:
“Bunkmates.” This rang particularly comical to me seeing that Gurganus is
insinuating he shared a night’s sleep with a dead woman. Most people I sure
would be quick to label this scenario as eerie, however Gurganus found peace in
the cemetery.
The story is
opened well with passionate anecdotes and detail that by the time the troubles occur
midway though, I am able to sympathize with Gurganus when he describes the
chopping of the cemetery’s old magnolia. Additionally, I appreciate how
Gurganus utilizes dialogue to accurately describe the tone of certain
situations, one being: “Have they cut either of those?”
“Just
the left one”
“Then
it’s dead”.
The text is
quick and to the point, allowing for the reader to feel the sudden heartbreak
that Gurganus briefly endured. I also love his ending line: “I sure do guard my
graves, you see. And — far too soon — they’ll return the favor.”
Question: Was it
the destruction of the tree, or rather the memories entwined in the tree, that
lead to Gurganus’s refusal to chopping the tree?
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