A Powerful Realistic Novel of American Life. QUICKSAND By HERVEY WHITE.
12mo, cloth, decorative, 328 pages. $1.50
_Quicksand_ is a strong argument against a certain condition whichthe author believes exists too generally in American society, andis, in effect, an appeal for the freedom of the individual in familylife. It is a powerful tragedy, developing very naturally out of theeffects of the interference of parents in the lives of their children,and of brothers and sisters in the affairs of each other. It becomestherefore, not only the story of an individual, but the life history ofan entire family, the members of which are portrayed with astonishingvividness and realism. The hero of the book also illustrates, inhis sufferings and failures, the unfortunate effects of a too narroworthodoxy in religion, coupled with his family's interference with hisgrowth out of this environment. Offsetting the tragedy of the story is"Hiram," the "hired man" of the family in its earlier New England days,in whom, particularly, the reader's interest will centre. Patient,kindly, faithful, and uncomplaining, he is indeed the real "hero"of the tale, the only one free from the unfortunate environments ofthe other characters, yet forced indirectly to suffer also because ofthem. It is the every-day life of the every-day family that is drawn;and this fact, together with the boldness and fidelity of the drawing,gives the story its power and impressiveness.
"Hervey White is the most forceful writer who has appeared in America for a long generation."--_Chicago Evening Post_.
"We cannot remember another book in which lives, thoughts, emotions, souls, and principles of action have been analyzed with such convincing power. Mr. Hervey White has great literary skill. He has here made his mark, and he has come to stay.... He is the American George Gissing, and as such some day he will have to be taken into account."--_Boston Herald_.
"It should insure Mr. White a permanent place in the critical regard of his fellow-countrymen.... Few characters as strong as that of Elizabeth Hinckley have ever been drawn by an American author, and she will remain in the mind of the most assiduous novel reader, secure of a place far above that held by most of the puny creations of the day."--_Chicago Tribune_.
"It is wrought of enduring qualities. Few novels are so sustained on an elevated plane of interest."--_Philadelphia Item_.
"It is a novel that takes hold of one, and is not the sort of book that, once begun, can be laid down without being finished."--_Indianapolis News_.