A GOLDEN STRING

by Daisy Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 1986

An octogenarian Quaker offers a lightweight memoir of the books she has written, including Indian Summer of the Heart. There is a pervasive lulling message here that everything will work out all right, and that the world is full of warm, loving people. This is certainly an attractive view, and it's understandable why Newman's novels would be popular among readers in search of wish-fulfillment, To a certain extent, the life pictured here has been the result of a courageous determination to make it count. Newman has certainly not led an idle life: while visiting Florence during the severe floods of 20 years ago, she immediately pitched in to help restore books. She cultivated the friendship of Thornton Wilder, although readers expecting an insightful portrait of that very complex man should look elsewhere: all we see here is a kind, jovial old pixie. When confronted with a choice between her writing and her family, the author unhesitatingly chose the latter, and does not regret it. Literary criticism is rather beside the point with such a person, since making books is, by her own admission, not the main point of her existence. If at times her Quakerism seems remote from reality, Newman's grasp of history is nevertheless pragmatic: she admits that the Quakers' mission to the Gestapo during WW II had no effect at all, yet it was their intent to make a ""clear, courageous testimony."" There is frankness in the fiber of this memoir, extending even to Newman's friends, one of whom tells her a little urgently that her history of Quakers ""will be read"" after her novels are ""forgotten."" A pleasant, if not strongly memorable, glance at a writing life.

Pub Date: Jan. 21, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION