MUTTER (Mothers)

This is a sort of contradiction to his former book, bread but just as fine a piece of work. Against a background of peasant life we have several beautifully drawn figures. The central one of old Gertraud the mid-wife, (obviously a recollection of the writer's childhood days) -- and the equally vital lesser characters: Maria, the wife of the innkeeper and her husband Jacob, the maid, Barbara, and coachman, Nikolaus. The book is simply and vigorously written.