Volume 26, Number 15 · October 11, 1979
In the Trap
By Robert Towers
The Tree House Confessions
by James McConkey
Dutton, 214 pp., $8.95
Ghost Images
by Stephen Minot
Harper & Row, 272 pp., $9.95
Let the Lion Eat Straw
by Ellease Southerland
Scribner's, 181 pp., $7.95
These three novels have been out for several months now and all have received some attention—in two cases very little. None is a 'big' novel, none is by a 'name' author (though James McConkey certainly has a following among fellow writers and discerning readers), and none seems destined to make much money. All three concentrate, somewhat unfashionably, upon the intensities of domestic life—upon the struggle of well-intentioned people to draw breath for themselves within its confines, upon the curious repetitions and reversals that occur as one generation flows into the next. All three are good novels, with sufficient intensity of vision and stylistic distinction to warrant another look before they are forgotten in the onrush of new titles this fall.
Review, 3044 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |