THE SUN IS MY UNDOING

by Marguerite Steen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 1941

Had this book come at the moment when Anthony Adverse was creating demand for picaresque literature, its success would have been unquestioned. I don't think any novel -- in its class -- has appeared since that date which holds the interest so securely throughout its 1200 pages, too long for any book. An absorbing story, with a vast canvas -- Bristol. of the slave trading days, the Middle Passage, the Gold Coast, the African interior, Barbados and plantation life, Cuba and Creole society the Barbary Coast, once again England, London and Bristol. And the cast of characters, many threaded plots, are all brought together at the close as a devious romance is shattered and new patterns established. Matthew Flood, whose love was broken on the issue of slavery; Pallas, who chose the cause of abolition instead of happiness; the haunted line of tainted descendants from Matthew's passion for a Negro beauty; and the resultant crisscross of love and tragedy. The story begins and ends in Bristol, a holding tale, superbly wrought, and there's the best picture of the slave trade I've read, comparing favorably with John Masefield's as a more rounded picture. But there is much that would be distasteful to conservatives -- and librarians should read this for themselves. Publishers are going out for big promotion and advertising. Watch it, stock it.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 1941

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1941

Categories: FICTION