MR. DESPONDENCY'S DAUGHTER

by Anne Parrish ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 1938

Somewhere in her life Anne Parrish must have known a goodly number of charming and despicable people. She certainly has a flair for creating such characters and making them wholly convincing. This might be a companion piece to All Kneeling, in its general appeal. With adroit circumlocutions, she succeeds in making her central figure condemn herself, write her own death warrant, as it were. It is a story of possessiveness, carried to the nth power, as a woman, in her old age, tells the story of her relations with the husband who killed himself, the son whose marriage crashed, the youngest son who went to the Front and did not come back, but left an unknown wife and a son, and throughout, the dominant theme of the story, the son at home, whose mind was cracking, whose whole being was shifting back into the protection of childhood as a sole escape. One of the cleverest pieces of writing and characterization I have read for some time. Insidious poison. Headline book, certain of substantial backing, big sales and rentals.

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 1938

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1938

Categories: FICTION