ONLY FIFTY YEARS AGO

by Cladys Hasty Carroll ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 1962

Twenty nine years ago As The Earth Turns introduced Gladys Hasty Carroll to an adult reading audience, with a novel, strongly nostalgic and reminiscent of her Maine childhood and growing years. Now comes a non-fiction work- again strongly nostalgic and reminiscent, again rooted in the cycle of a year in Maine childhood. For quite evidently the author is the Marcy Hasty of fifty years ago. While the little girl's viewpoint is skillfully sustained, the reach is broader based than this, and an adult looking back interprets the mood of season, while the child chooses from memory the highpoint that means each passing month. There's the rhythm of the seasons in the writing, and one feels as intimate relationship with the Maine farm background- near Ogunquit and the New Hampshire line. The family- three generations, sprawling over the northeast corner of the United States- come together for celebrations, and funerals, and one gets a sense of close bonds of common interest, common heritage and an acceptance of the right to be different. For younger readers this will seem much farther back than fifty years:- cars were rare, the first planes a miracle, the one room schoolhouse was not an anomaly, and the family farm, supplying a major part of the livelihood, was a normal way of life. The book has great charm.

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 1962

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1962

Categories: NONFICTION