COUNTRY GROWTH

Collection of short stories, built around a central theme, the pulse of Sac Prairie. These come close to the tempo of his first book, The Tree Falls South, without the social implications. Some of the same characters run through the stories, giving one the sense of being part of the town, and opening one door after another. There are small town folk, country folk, a code of mores that seem to easterners outmoded, but that reflect vast stretches of our country still. My mind went back to Bromfield's The Farm, to Glenway Wescott's Grandmothers. Bits of national politics, of local politics, romance and scandal and the bits and pieces, warp and woof of country life, realistically handled. For essential flavor read Good Bye, Margery, Any Day Now, The Intercessors and The No Sayers. New elements, divorce, war, new sex standards and morals, fitted into an old pattern. He has a nice quality.