THE SOUND OF SUMMER VOICES

The Voices are agreeable, even if they are echoes of the one book which is the unhesitating hope of so many that have followed (the publishers will make the obligatory comparison for you -- To Kill a Mockingbird). And so is orphaned Patrick, a curious and tenacious ten year old who lives with his greatuncle Darius and two Aunts -- Atheha who is grim and Beryl who is gentle -- in the old house which like Darius defies change and where every tomorrow is like yesterday. Too much like yesterday. Nettled by his friend Rusty, Patrick begins to wonder whether his mother, Celinda, who had died at his birth, had even existed; there are no photographs of her and the grave at the end of the property, which he digs up, proves to be empty. In his attempt to resurrect other Unknown and unmentionable episodes of the past Patrick finally confronts Darius and makes liberation possible at least for Beryl. . . . . A domestic literary talent applied to a story which makes a very natural progression from surmise to revelation and it's the kind of book Which most women will read with just about the same sentimental ease as it is written.