THE LONG WHITE CLOUD

by Ray Mount Rogers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1960

There are assorted facets to this novel, ostensibly- and perhaps primarily- a novel about horse racing. For in Jeff, who has killed a man in England and is serving out his sentence on parole to his uncle in New Zealand, the facts in his background and conditioning that impel him to race- and race to win against his father- against any that impose defeat upon him, are actually of more importance than the races he runs with his white horse. Jeff- in New Zealand- is almost assaulted by the nymphomaniac cousin, Jill; he is fascinated by the inaccessibility of his cousin Nev's girl; he loathes Nev's tortuous approach to life, to horses, to the land, to racing. And in turn Nev has his own strange pattern:- the throwback to the goal of surgery, manifested in abnormal and sadistic ways; the urge to own land he cannot handle; the cold and rationalistic approach to love and marriage. And there is the uncle- also with a murky past- and his questionable acquisition of Maori lands; his relatively new absorption in racing; his willingness to do anything- almost- to get the fortune held out from across the sea. Perhaps this story, with many elements that make for almost morbid interest- fails through the multiplicity of plots within plots. But it remains a rather novel experience in reading.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1960

Categories: FICTION