Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE STRANGE CHILDREN by Caroline Gordon

THE STRANGE CHILDREN

By

Publisher: Scribner

A slickly groomed reflection of the polished attitudes and circumlocutions living of a group of restless American intellectuals and their abortive attempts to put down roots --into human relationships, into religion, into local legend. Seen through the eyes of young Lucy Lewis, ten-year-old daughter of a novelist and his fractious Southern wife, the lives of the Lewises and their friends seem to become fuzzy in outline, confusing in direction, although each character seems to know what he wants. There is Lewis, engaged in the faintly teasing riddles of the Civil War period; his wife, who wishes for the security of a Southern tradition; Tubby, who desires above anything else the beautiful Mrs. Reardon, a Lewis house guest; and Kev Reardon, yearning for the clear call of a tradtional religion to satisfy his father-guilt. Placed against the aimless vegetating and religious fanaticism of the native neighbors, the tiresome round would lack any solidity were it not for the character of Lucy whose pre-adolescent cynicism together with a fanciful romanticism provide an effective perspective. Detached, worldly wise.