THE ANGEL AND THE SAILOR

by Calvin Kentfield ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 1957

Here are nine short stories and one novella from the author of the novel The Alchemist's Voyage (Harcourt, Brace, P. 608, 1956) and three of them again display an acute portrayal of men, and ships and the sea, while five have an autobiographical atmosphere of life along the Mississippi bluffs. The title piece, the novella, is centered around a changeling child whose parents, dismayed at the man's voice she uses in her sleep, at the messages and drawing no one can catch her doing, leave her with a relative for seven years and then find the eeriness still pursues her. The Iowan boys, their parents and friends reflect moments of drama and humor, characters evoked in memory, conversations and a growing up and away from their childhood backgrounds. The Round Giant, Mortality and Dancer's Cricket with their focus on ship life are dependent on men's talk and situations created by the differences among them, while the last story, Innocence Descending, follows a young man from Taormina, with many delays and stopovers, to London for a family Christmas which is not forthcoming. This collection, which is strong on images and symbols, on moods and ""talking it up one side and down the other"", makes an interesting companion piece to his novel and parades a facility for changes in pace and character. From The New Yorker.

Pub Date: March 18, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1957

Categories: FICTION