Books like Reflections in a Golden Eye

"… in a moment when a great but unknown shock is expected, the mind instinctively prepares itself by abandoning momentarily the faculty of surprise. In that vulnerable instant a kaleidoscope of half-guessed possibilities project themselves, and when the disaster has defined itself there is the feeling of having understood beforehand in some supernatural way."From page one of this strange little book, there is a sense of impending doom hovering over the reader straight through to the very last page. As one would expect from Carson McCullers, this book speaks of loneliness and isolation. It also brings us into a world of obsession. Each character stands out with their eccentricities. You’re not going to find a single one towards whom you can extend a bit of hope. You will not want to sit down and share all your dreams and sorrows with them. Unlike my favorite McCullers novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, there are no John Singers or Mick Kellys. "The participants of this tragedy were: two officers, a soldier, two women, a Filipino, and a horse."The story takes place at a southern army base during what I assume to be the 1930s. One character on the surface serves as a ‘Peeping Tom’ of sorts. This in itself was enough to give me the creeps. But as our voyeur peers through the windows, so do we spy on the lives of this group of tormented human beings. Sexual repression, of both the homosexual and the heterosexual nature, is emphasized. When an individual is not allowed to be him or herself, what are the repercussions? If one must keep secret his or her desires, the results will eventually reverberate across all the players. Using the military post as the stage is a perfect way to illustrate the effects as this is a closed and disciplined community. A discussion between two of the officers illuminates the conflict best:"You mean that any fulfillment obtained at the expense of normalcy is wrong, and should not be allowed to bring happiness. In short, it is better, because it is morally honorable, for the square peg to keep scraping about the round hole rather than to discover and use the unorthodox square that would fit it?""Why, you put it exactly right."I’ll leave the rest for you to discover on your own. This novel does not quite soar to the heights of my favorite McCullers novel. Nevertheless, she was a brilliant author and I highly recommend any of her work. She writes of the outcast and the isolation of the human soul like no one else. Don’t expect to be uplifted after reading one of her works, but do expect to be fully satisfied.