This was strangely evocative of Mishima and Genet for me, doubly surprising considering the Southern gothic setting and the fact that McCullers wrote from a culture and perspective very different from the aforementioned Japanese and French authors. All of the following comparisons are not to discount McCullers's genius. Mishima is my second favorite author of all-time, and to find themes and characters here so parallel to his own was a delight. Elgee and Penderton are both near-Mishiman archetypes: the beautiful, brooding loner with inexplicable urges, and the older man (sexually) obsessed with and jealous of youth and death. Penderton read very gay to me, and I think it's a fair assessment considering McCullers's oeuvre, in which I find lots of coded queer language and characters (Singer in Lonely Hunter being the most prime example).

A few more thoughts about Elgee and Penderton: both are consumed with violence. Elgee's outbursts and criminal behavior reminded me very much of Jean Genet's idealizations of the beautiful criminal. Elgee also sunbathes in the nude, and while not described as a paragon, still manages to inspire jealousy and longing in Penderton. Probably my favorite line mentions the Captain's transcendence of love and hate, and his ultimate desire to shatter the barrier between the two men. This united the novella with McCullers's recurring theme of yearning, the quest for human connection, which is doomed to fail.

Honestly, this novella packs so much into so brief a space, it's worth a read for absolutely everyone. Penderton's idealization and preoccupation with Williams by the end reminded me of so many of my favorite Mishiman heroes. Even without all this cross-analysis, this book is a treasure of thematic depth, elegant prose, and memorable characters. I had initially given this 4-stars, but after writing all this out, have convinced myself to add a fifth.