THE TELLING

by John Weston ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 11, 1966

Somehow the old dictum that you should scrap the first child and start with the second applies conversely to the novel. The Telling is a disappointment after Jolly even though there is some decisive writing--the desert, where it takes place, comes through in bright, hot colors; so does the mood which is midway between an experienced cynicism and an enlightened sympathy. Certainly for those involved even though they may not always seem worth it- -a group of unstrung people whose unhappiness cannot be related to anything in particular, only in one case, circumstance. The latter applies to school principal McCarron whose wife had died ten years before; the others (four out of five) are a group of mail order teachers he imports for the season (they probably won't last much longer): Bill Dann, off the Texas docks; Angela Deek, fortyish, manless and on the make; Jake Grantham, a painter, with his pregnant wife--pregnant by another man; Baker Steinhart whose early brilliance as a student has now been thoroughly submerged in alcohol. The presence in school and after hours of an Indian halfbreed with a tremendous magnetism sets off the events which take place--an attempted suicide and miscarriage, a homosexual attack and murder.... When all is told, the novel suffers from the emotional destitution of the characters, in spite of their more pressing physical needs which promote a good deal of the drama.

Pub Date: March 11, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1966

Categories: FICTION