DUNCAN & CLOTILDA

by Giovanni Guareschi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 1968

The author of The Little World of Don Camillo continues his downward path, as the humor becomes more forced, the whimsy a drag. This is the story of Duncan Fitzmorris, separated from his inheritance by the necessity of downing one glass of castor oil which his deceased mother had attempted to press upon him since the age of five. Duncan is pursued by rich, eccentric heiress Clotilda and his misfortunes and adventures are the direct result of that lady's international plotting. There are arrests at sea, gangs of brigands, New York prisons, characters that reappear in various guises. Journeying concluded, Duncan at last succumbs to Clotilda and castor oil, and Clotilda has the last word or pound. A long digression--an ""orphan""-brigand memoir--intensifies the tedium, and nothing really funny takes place. Subtitled ""An Extravaganza"" this is lavish only in plot complications. Set in 1905 for no particular reason, and translated by L. K. Conrad. Ferrous frivolity.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION