"A Pride of Lions" 1954 Brooks, John

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BROOKS, John

[308] pp.

Harper & Brothers

1954

8 1/2" x 5 3/4"

This is the story of the weaning … Read more BROOKS, John

[308] pp.

Harper & Brothers

1954

8 1/2" x 5 3/4"

This is the story of the weaning of 30-year-old Tom Osborne. From his position in mid-stream, he can see the flora and fauna of East Bank, the small eastern town where he was raised. He can also see the jagged skyline and hear the siren song of New York City, the place where he makes his living as a bright young editor in a Shall book-publishing house. he yields to the genteel demands of his mother, father, aunts and uncles who inhabit a lonely outpost of eighteenth century tradition? Or shall he cut the silver cord and follow an un- dedicated course in career, romance, social standards? Still concerned with the broad moral values which filled in the journalistic framework of “The Big Wheel," Mr. Brooks has produced an equally serious second novel. It's a somber fact, though, that Messrs. Wolfe. Marquand, O'Hara and Stein- beck (to name four) have done this family album sort of thing better. How much the reader takes from "A Pride of Lions" will depend largely upon how much of it is familiar experience and therefore memory- stirring. Mr. Brooks writes deftly and intuitively about well-bred people. He is informed about them, whether members of the modern or antediluvian set. His characters develop and react upon each other in believable ways. When they talk or emote, the effect usually seems right and true for their Princeton or Vassar or Society of Cincinnati origins. In illuminating set pieces such as the inside of a publishing house or a Princeton reunion parade or small crises in family life, the author is at his sympathetic best. Fondly presented historical and regional lore helps to hold the structure together. But some bystanders may feel that "A Pride of Lions" contains more long, long aphorisms Mr. Kelly is a critic and short-story writer. than long, long thoughts. They may consider that the young hero is really too young to be quite so retrospective and that his vision is not always 20-20 in matters of hard reality. It may make them restless to have the plot jump around in time like an airport searchlight and to have the Message press so heavily upon the novel's mood. Granted the importance of theme, was it necessary to dress up the obvious in so many disguises? When Tom receives word that the East Bank household is not running smoothly, he promptly arranges a leave of absence from New York editorial duties and his puzzled girl, Mary Allison. Arriving home, Tom finds the same monolithic family tradition, outmoded social values, and gulf between father and son. Except that now his father, despite a serious heart disease, leads all members of the Osborne clan in a fight to prevent the horror (sic) of a new oil refinery in East Bank. Drawn into it almost against his will, Tom wavers among his various loyalties until climactic events when Father Osborne's forces suffer both civic and spiritual defeat. Flashback memories of childhood encounters, the undergraduate romance which caused him to leave East Bank in the first place, and vivid scenes in which his relatives stoutly break lances in defense of brittle old illusions supply ready documentation for present events. In the end, it appears that the young man has finally come to satisfactory terms with the town, the city and the girl. But the novel's curtain line belongs to Father Osborne: "How many times do I have to tell you, old man, that I've never felt worse.” "A Pride of Lions" offers low- pressure entertainment, based mostly on the universal problem of trying to become adult. It provides a needed reminder that our country's oldest social traditions must be modified for the times if they are to carry be- yond history books and family archives. On both counts, Mr. Brooks proves himself a good man to have around. See less