COTTONWOODS GROW TALL

by Margaret Bell Houston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 1958

.....but do not, perhaps, attain the stature of Genesee County. This is young Heather's account of her life with her uncle Steve, his wife Rena, their son Donald, another cousin, Stanard, and forceful Maam, the grandmother on the family ranch in Texas. Steve -- cool, quiet, honorable -- and dangerous -- revenges his wife's infidelity by killing her lover, schoolteacher Duval, and bringing the dead man's daughter, Zali, to live with them and it is Heather, weedlike and wild, who is the companion to Zali's growing up and taking what she wants. For with Rena, now an invalid, making every effort for Don to escape the life of a rancher, it is Heather, wise and apparently content, who is trained to run the land and marry Don -- but it is Zali who gets him and Rena, chancing death, is the instrument that frees Heather to marry Stan and live in the outside world. The sense of intruders in a prairie kingdon, of inward compression from secrets only guessed, of a strong man and woman dominating youth and romance -- these are part of a femininely accented story.

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 1958

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1958

Categories: FICTION