THE TENDER AGE

by Russell Thacher ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1952

A long weekend in the lives of the Dedricks which provides a verbatim drama of the folks at home as seen through the eyes of Bunny (Howard, Jr.), a miserable seventeen. For Bunny reflects all of the awkward vulnerability of this age, the too conscious embarassment of inexperience, the knowledge without the savvy of the adult world to which he is exposed. And while Bunny is a steadier character than J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, he faces the insecurity of a home which is splintered by his father's affair with a woman in the town. There is his mother's quivering indecision; his sister Jan's defiant night out with a local big wheel and the sullied morning after; his own attempt to maintain the friendship with Barby- the daughter of his father's mistress- in spite of the unforgivable situation, and the protectively defensive feelings he sustains towards his mother, and towards Jan. The private quarrels wind up to a public scene; Howard leaves home, to return a little later to resume his impaired position as head of the family; and it is Bunny, with a superior knowledge who finally shows a superior strength and faces his father with terms which silence a bullying recrimination... A directly touching portrayal of a marginal age, of understanding which disabuses these first affections, of ambivalent desires and divided loyalties, this is recognizable and very real. It should attract some of the audience of The Catcher in the Rye.

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1952

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1952

Categories: FICTION