IN THE COOL OF THE DAY

by Susan Ertz ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

A novel which leads the unsuspecting reader into hidden turmoils of frustrated passion, as Murray Logan, member of a British publishing firm, encounters the fragile wife of Sam Bonner, whose father had established the American branch. Both Murray and Christine were living rather sterile lives:- Sam overprotected Christine, because of her invalidism; Murray had found himself in his work, for his marriage to Sibyl had gone on the rocks of her bitter resentment against him- and her unfeeling detachment from their mentally retarded child. Sam's marriage was in peril; he asked Murray to do what he could to stabilize it once more -- and Murray and Christine fell in love. At first it was a spiritual and intellectual communion of kindred souls; then Christine's indomitable determination to find herself in a dreamed-of Greece-and to share it with Murray, and, of necessity, Christine brought their attraction to the boiling point -- and their carefully constructed cardboard houses collapsed. Two thirds of the story seems boldly conceived and executed; the pace of the final denouement somehow overwhelms both characters and their creator and the finale has something of Greek tragedy in the immensity of disaster. Susan Ertz' skilled writing through most of the book places this in the upper level of fine fiction, despite the not wholly satisfactory finale.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1960

Categories: FICTION