MR. BELUNCLE

by V. S. Pritchett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 1951

A London suburb with a common, cardinal belief in calamity is the setting for the story of Mr. Beluncle, a whirligig of mixed emotions and drives since his dream world, of betterment and advancement, never correlates with reality. His rationalizations make possible his misuse of his mother's, his wife's and his sister's money, and the perilous financial position of Bulux, his furniture factory, is the cause of his attempts to keep Mrs. Truslove, widow of his partner and replacing him in the same position, and her money from leaving him. Mixed in with this is his connection with the Parkinson sect and the excitement of the cure worked for Mrs. Truslove's crippled sister, Judy. There are his boys, Henry, George and Leslie (quite a young horror and monster), the antipathy of the community represented by the venemous Voggs and his housebound mother, and the disastrous crash brought about through Judy's death. An airless congregation of the wounded and the unwounded make up this soul-scape of society's natural voids in which a glittering overgrowth of stylistic precision shadows a glum vacancy. For the I. Compton-Burnett and Henry Green audience.

Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1951

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1951

Categories: FICTION