Superficially, the virulent if not flagrant materials which structure Mr. Ford's second (The Liberation of Lord Byron...

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THE FEAST OF SAINT BARNABAS

Superficially, the virulent if not flagrant materials which structure Mr. Ford's second (The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones--1965) drama, or melodrama, are as strong as say Sol Yurick's. But whereas Mr. Yurick can be suspected of exploitation, Mr. Ford seems altogether sincere. Flaws, not fatal, exist; there is a certain concession to sentiment at the close; and his characters are not much more than the sum of their particular background (poor white deadbeats, black down-and-outers). But his story has the savage snap of a bullwhip and at times is striated with an unmistakable poetic talent. This takes place in the steamy ""nigger"" section of Ormund City, a lumber port on the west coast of Florida. With the dubious advances of civilization, African-Spanish curses and charms and conjures have given way to drinking, gambling and prostitution. In a ""saloon-whorehouse-grocery"" store a white man stomps a nigger to death, and the concentric patterns of violence gain momentum. The vicelord of Ormund City orders a reprisal; at the same time he has commissioned a destitute, once landed, white Tennesseean to engage in the ""betrayal business"" and provide some ""find-out papers"" on his competitor who has been crowding him. Before long the whole quarter is engaged in a riot-vendetta which the police with its ""crowd-control"" unit finally stems. . . . However reluctant the reader, he will be immobilized. Quite simply Mr. Ford is a stunning writer in either, operative sense of the word.

Pub Date: Jan. 27, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown--A.M.P.

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1968

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