THIS PROUD HEART

by Pearl Buck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1938

A disappointment, one might as well acknowledge at the start. On Pearl Buck's name and fame the book will sell. And rent. But if it had been published with an unknown name, the market would have been primarily a rental library one. A rather thin story of love and marriage versus a career, not handled with any particular subtlety or charm. The central figure is a girl, exceptionally gifted as a sculptor, who tried to rationalize her urgent need for self-expression with her conviction that she can run a home and be wife and mother efficiently as well. Her husband dies. She ultimately marries again -- but finds that her one gain in her second marriage is an awareness of her own passionate depths, and that it isn't worth the sacrifice of aloneness. The story is spun out beyond its needs, the psychological implications are obvious and the handling of them superficial and repetitious. One feels one has the whole story in its opening chapters. A typical woman's magazine story -- and little more. The style lacks the fluidity and rhythm of her other books.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1938

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Reynal & Hitchcock

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1938

Categories: FICTION