MY SWEET CHARLIE

by David Westheimer ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Mr. Westheimer (Von Ryan's Express) exhibits his extreme versatility in this deftly executed story of a poor white southern girl and a northern Negro thrown together by circumstance. Marlene, a pregnant seventeen-year-old, has been thrown out of her home by her righteously indignant father. She takes refuge in an abandoned summer cottage only to have her privacy invaded by Charlie, a twenty-eight-year old lawyer, black man and murderer on the run. The conflict ritual of prejudice versus counter prejudice is brought in sharp focus as Marlene asserts her natural superiority through Charlie's insults and intellectual jibes. The gradual change in Marlene's attitude is subtle--"" something had changed. It was as if she had once had a sharp clear view of a world with everything in its rightful place and now some of the things had been moved around."" It reflects in her change of thinking from ""that nigger"" to ""that man"" to ""Charlie."" The change in Charlie is more traumatic and less believable as he undergoes an intellectual self-analysis. Trapped together, they come to not only depend upon each other for survival but for companionship and gradually begin to shut out that other world, the real world. The story moves in slow gradations to a shattering but tender climax. What could have been an experiment in cliche is, in Mr. Westheimer's hands, a thoughtful appraisal of human beings forced to a consideration of human values. Expressive, but will not have the Express train appeal.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1965

Categories: FICTION