SHAKEN WITH THE WIND

A portrait of an ineffectual, depressingly unrelieved, in the life of Blanche Rankin, spanning the years 1903 to the '20's. Story of a drifting woman and the men in her life, from Lee who married her at 15; Jesse who cared -- and died; Harry, who comes and goes and so on. She tries anything once -- a pseudo-religion, spiritualism, drinking, but they fail to relieve the drab monotony, the hopelessness of the portrait. And yet -- unpleasant reading as it is -- the handling of this very hopelessness does impress.