MAN OF STRAW

by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 19, 1970

Mrs. Cowley is a New Zealander with a decisive strength (Nest in a Falling Tree--1967) and her writing, which is essentially plain and honest and aliterary, invites the kinds of adjectives which kill with kindness. She handles her unexceptional family story with straightforward-going momentum, this time presenting a much wider range of encroachment for all ages than the earlier book. The Jonssons live in a ragged fashion in a small town: Paul Jonsson, after sketchy odd jobs, is now only growing strawberries; Mum seems always tired, absent-minded, vague while the house runs to dust and disarray; and her daughters (with quite a stretch between them--Miranda is ready to marry Colin; Ros is an untidy, careless adolescent thirteen) have something in common if only the volatility and intensity with which they respond to everything. The summer idles along during the holidays until Paul is accused of a sexual assault on one of Ros' friends, bringing to light the long past of infidelities which Mrs. Jonsson has permitted and which now drive Miranda out of the house and away from Colin. The repercussions continue; their dog is stoned by local people and Ros, wretchedly alone, runs away to her unnecessary death. . . . A novel of considerable sympathy and stamina in which the characters, particularly the older Jonssons with their lifestyle of avoidance, fashion their own fate with a particular urgency and undertow.

Pub Date: June 19, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION