THE ANTHEM

by Noel Gerson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1967

Noel Gerson is a prolific writer at a certain level of accomplishment. Here he extends his reach if not his grasp for what his publishers consider his ""breakthrough"" novel, his first full scale, major theme work. And it is a major theme, no less than ecumenism and the waging of religious war, the waning and waxing of religious tolerance through the many generations of an old and noble family. The first de Montauban to appear is Philippe, King Henry of Navarre's man, who does not follow Henry into a Catholicism that will permit him to give succor and a measure of peace to the hated and oppressed Huguenots from whom he stems, but whose sons follow their mother into the embrace of the Church. Down through the centuries the de Montaubans appear, in France, in exile in England, in America, meeting the greats of their day, kings and queens and cardinals, savants and statesmen, finding their women, fighting their causes. The last of the line is Viv de Montauban, a famous writer at thirty, who says harsh things about the old men arguing over ecumenism too late while the world perches precariously on its atomic stockpile. A book that reads easily if not well, that earnestly applies itself to its central concern almost to the exclusion of characterization, The Anthem is an ambitious undertaking; whether the ambitions of the publisher for it will be realised remains in question.

Pub Date: May 15, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Evans

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION