Time Will Darken It

Set in the early part of the twentieth century, this is the story of a man who unwittingly unleashes devastating results on his personal and professional life. When the Potters, who are very, very distantly related to Austin King, invite themselves to travel from Mississippi to Illinois to visit

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the King family for an extended stay, he reluctantly agrees. William Maxwell is able to portray the characters and the subtle plot development with the clarity that defines his skill as a writer. The ending is haunting.

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This is a wonderful book by a great author whom I feel has not received the recognition he deserves. Although perhaps best known for the award winning So Long, See You Tomorrow, Maxwell's masterpiece may be this novel about the effect a visiting set of relatives has on a family, their friends and

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neighbors. Maxwell is a master at creating characters, both male and female. He also has a deft hand in placing these characters in a certain time and place. I felt I could walk through the door of the King house on Elm Street in 1912 to enjoy the buffet supper and be a first hand observer of how the Southern relatives begin to charm the natives of Draperville, a small city in the midwwest. Highly recommend.

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This is the second William Maxwell book I have read this year and it is just wonderful. Reminds me a bit of Winesburg, Ohio and the novels of Sinclair Lewis. It's a book about small town life in Illinois just prior to World War I. I am about two thirds of the way through right now. I am amazed that

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I am just learning of William Maxwell, because from what I have read so far he ranks with the best American authors of the 20th century.

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A brilliant evocation of the complexity of life and the fragility of happiness.

A magisterially subtle book that says a lot about America, and families, and love, in the story of a family visit from post Civil War south to the emancipated north.

Here's a bit more than a trifle, a time capsule from 1948. The use of several racial slurs, spoken by Mississippi cousins, is disturbing and almost made me toss the novel in disgust. The author is revered for not only his writing, but for his 40 year stint as fiction editor at The New Yorker,

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through 1968 - which mean he shaped much of the fiction we were all exposed to during those years. The redemption of this novel is Maxwell's sensitive handling of a difficult marriage in overly involved Drapersville, a Midwestern small town, and his sensitive and loving portraits of neighbors and friends.

Quote: "Women are never ready to let go of love at the point where men are satisfied and able to turn to something else."

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