October Island

October Island is a novel by American author William March, first published in 1952 by Little, Brown (in the United States) and Gollancz (in the United Kingdom). The book is not currently in print.

For the island in Kaliningrad, see Oktyabrsky Island.
October Island
First US edition
AuthorWilliam March
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherLittle, Brown (US)
Gollancz (UK)
Publication date
1952
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded byTrial Balance: The Collected Short Stories of William March (1945) 
Followed byThe Bad Seed (1954) 

While there were plenty of reviews (Roy S. Simmonds lists 29 in his William March: An Annotated Checklist[1]), many of them were quite negative; most of the negative reviews claimed the book was flat and uninteresting. In The New York Times Book Review, Donald Barr complained that the characters were marionettes;[2] John Betjeman, in the Daily Telegraph, was even more critical: "The book is written simply, but it is empty, and there is really nothing beyond its simplicity. It is neither real nor fantastic."[3]

Positive appraisal came from, for instance, Charles Poore, in The New York Times, who praises March's "novel of salt and savor" full of "quiet, uninsistent irony" and his "mordant undertones of commentary on what it truly means to be an outcast."[4]

References
  1. Simmonds, Roy S. (1988). William March: An Annotated Checklist. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. pp. 175–81. ISBN 0-8173-0361-8.
  2. Donald, Barr (1952-10-19). "A Tale of Morality and Fulfillment". The New York Times Book Review. p. 44.
  3. Betjeman, John (1952-06-20). "Rev. of October Island". Daily Telegraph. p. 6.
  4. Poore, Charles (1952-10-16). "Books of the Times". The New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
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