SOURCE: "The Education of Francis Ellery," in John O'Hara Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2, Winter, 1981, pp. 32-8.

Malin is an educator and critic whose books include William Faulkner: An Interpretation (1957) and Isaac Bashevis Singer (1972). In the following essay, he examines the character development of Francis Ellery in Ask Me Tomorrow.

In Just Representations, a James Gould Cozzens reader, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, there is only one novel reprinted. This novel is Ask Me Tomorrow, first published in 1940. Bruccoli notes in his introduction that the novel is "uncharacteristically personal, drawing on Cozzens's experiences as a tutor in Europe." The brief description reverberates with meanings. In 1940 Cozzens was thirty-seven; he was able to be ironic toward his young hero, to have a "double view" of him.

My reading of the novel is not the usual kind for a Cozzens novel; it is intended to provoke criticism from professional Cozzens critics; they...