This section contains 3,473 words (approx. 12 pages at 300 words per page) |
The particular interest of Buckler's early sketches and stories is in following themes and characters which would appear in more serious and mature form in the later fiction. In this sense, all his early work was a dress rehearsal for The Mountain and the Valley.
Buckler's first published story was "One Quiet Afternoon," which appeared in the April, 1940 issue of Esquire magazine. Here one senses Buckler struggling to find an appropriate form for his materials. The story lacks a central narrative interest; there is simply too much going on. Any signs of such weakness had disappeared utterly with his next effort, a story called "The First Born Son," published by Esquire in July, 1941. This masterful story combined two themes which were to become central to Buckler's mature work: the tension between fathers and sons, and the city/country conflict. (pp. 55-6)
[For a beginner] the differences between city...
This section contains 3,473 words (approx. 12 pages at 300 words per page) |