THE QUICK YEARS

by Jean Ariss ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Joseph is the central and dominating figure of this story, told by the grand-daughter, Sharon, who has a passionate conviction that they belong together. To Joseph, possession is the breath of life; he resents all of his sons-in-law, he accepts Grand-mother and the utter devotion of a lifetime (he married her when she was fifteen-and she bore him a dozen children)- and still has room for Sharon, who wanted no part of her parents' lives. The story is told in erratic stream of consciousness, shifting from present to past without transitions (which makes it often a guessing contest between author and reader). By the story's end -with Sharon married to Reuben, whose Judaism brought her back into the faith of Joseph)- one has had the twenty seven years of Joseph's marriage. Despite his arrogance, his irritability, his irascible tempestuous inconsistency, Joseph somehow rings true. Though the setting is a California farm, there is something here that recalls the immense vitality of Old Jules and it is an incapability American in its essence.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1958

Categories: FICTION