Some pieces are stronger than others. The content of Wescott’s previously unpublished stories may be uncomfortable for some.
A posthumous collection of short stories and essays by Wescott (1901-1987), arranged to reflect autobiographical continuity, includes previously unpublished pieces with explicitly sexual and gay themes.
Poet, essayist and acclaimed novelist Wescott (Pilgrim Hawk, 1940, etc.) may not be as familiar to the average reader as many of his contemporaries, but his works live on thanks, in part, to editor and biographer Rosco. The Wisconsin farm boy ascended from humble beginnings to consort with the crème de la crème of literary and political society during the early years of his career. A prolific writer while abroad, Wescott moved comfortably among the expatriate community in Europe during the 1920s and early ’30s and published many of his observations in magazines—often using his fictional alter ego, Alwyn Tower, as narrator. In “Mr. Auerbach in Paris,” he depicts an elderly, sight-impaired Germanophile who laments Germany’s defeat during World War I as he buys copious amounts of French artwork. In the frankly sexual title story, the narrator travels by bus to pursue an encounter with a man who reputedly has physical attributes much like the mythical Greek god Priapus. France’s lack of preparedness on the eve of World War II is the subject of “The Frenchman Six Feet Three.” After donning an ill-fitting uniform and completing two weeks of reserve military service, Roger Gaumond despairingly tells his friends (who are preparing to leave the country) that France cannot survive the coming war without intervention from the U.S. and Great Britain. Also included in this collection is the heretofore unpublished “An Example of Suicide,” a meticulous examination of human thought processes and our belief that, once committed, we must follow through with actions. It’s an excellent story and worthy of inclusion in any top-notch anthology. But other pieces disappoint for their disproportionately heavy-handed, elliptical writing, including the tedious “The Odor of Rosemary” and the blurry “Sacre de Printemps.”
Some pieces are stronger than others. The content of Wescott’s previously unpublished stories may be uncomfortable for some.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-299-29690-2
Page Count: 200
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
