Lockwood Concern

Egress had been your problem. At Crete there is the Labyrinth, Minotaur and string carrier. Someone has left string in your lonesome.. others come to pluck it innocently. The firmament is the wall between you and eternity. The labyrinth has walls also.... But the walls are orthogonal to your pace... some say, and you walk alone also. But then, together in your endeavor, the banter is light and chatty, concerted union... somehow egress is achieved and you go to the parking lot of your compound. The string is in you you know. When you leave the island compound, and you're alone. Anger alone.

at George Lockwood's wall . . . ." So begins my favorite work of John O'Hara (except perhaps for the "Sermons and Soda Water" trilogy, but that's another review). "The Lockwood Concern" follows the lives of four generations of Lockwoods as they gain social status. The characters are brilliantly drawn and unforgettable, particularly Abraham, the second Lockwood in the line and the one who names the "concern." As always, the dialogue leaps from the page and the strains of plot are too subtle to be properly discussed in a brief review. This is some of John O'Hara's best work and I cannot imagine why it is not frequently reprinted. You will not regret reading it.