PILGRIM SON: A Personal Odyssey

by John Masters ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 1971

In 1948, a British Colonel, fresh from Indian service, was seen high-tailing it around Manhattan peddling tours of the Himalayas and a new bra construction; this is ex-Colonel/author Masters own gin-and-bitters account of the before -- India and England -- and the after -- becoming a writer and American citizen. Masters has written of his India years in Bugles and a Tiger (1955) and The Road Past Mandalay (1961) and this memoir begins with his last months under the waning British rule. Then there was a harrowing trip back to England with wife, tot, and newborn infant, a stretch of teaching and an abrupt decision to emigrate to what seemed greener pastures. Once into a writing career and happily settled in Rockland County, his financial situation was monitored by regular missives, mainly gloomy, from publishers and glowering immigration officials. Masters comments on writing, publishers, editors and their ways; the critical Liberal Establishment and the Joe McCarthy Right; education; vacation travels in the U.S. and abroad. And he discusses minor intercultural blocks such as baseball, or British mysteries which favor rank and the concept of the ""gentleman."" Cocktail hour reminiscences -- amusing, occasionally trenchant, sometimes pontifical, but sure to attract a patio crowd.

Pub Date: May 21, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION