CONSTANCE

by Herve Bazin ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

More of the relentless detailing of disintegration, this time progressively physical, which marked ead Against The Wall (1952) and Viper In The Fist (1951)- both published then by(Prentice-Hall)-follows the death-in-life of Constance Orglaise, partially paralyzed by medullary shock. Her disdainful contempt of her crippled state drives her to actions not permissible to her condition and barricades her with pride. She insists on the day care of five years old boy with Little's disease; she gets in touch with classmates of her dead brother, and, using them to disperse her boredom, criticizes, suggests and directs them according to her whim. But inactivity is forced on her with the development of syringmyella and her diminishing life is spent in refusing to betray her mordant affection for any of the group in spite of her helplessness. A minute dissection of disease, this, in its first person narration, mirrors a young girl who tries -- and finds -- excuses to live. Clinical.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1954

Categories: FICTION