MALCOLM

by James Purdy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 1959

A whimsy (and/or weirdie) tells of Malcolm, fifteen, and all alone in the world- his father has died or disappeared. With nothing to do, he sits on a bench until an astrologer acquaintance gives him some people to contact; a retired mortician, a midget whose wife runs off with a Japanese wrestler, the Girards who offer him their chateau if he will make it his home, an ex-con, some jazz musicians, a tattoo artist, a motorcyclist, etc. Malcolm marries a singer who extends his life experience; he thinks he sees his father- in a men's room- but this illusion is his last as he begins to fail and dies shortly thereafter.... A fantasia which is almost a freakshow is handled with contrasts of deliberate naivete and sophistication- and if there's a message it's easy to miss. An abstraction for the avant-garde?

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1959

Categories: FICTION