Leon Garfield [presents] his simple people simply as they are [in Moss and Blister], in a comic view that surprisingly avoids being patronizing while delighting in absurdity at every social level. His laughter is quite without contempt, despite the fact that his methods are akin to caricature…. Moss and Blister is the latest in Garfield's series of "apprentices", odd little books whose length suggests a slightness that their energy contradicts. Moss the midwife and her scrawny apprentice are a splendidly comic duo, plying their trade of delivering babies—itself seen as essentially comic, perhaps for the first time since Dr. Slop—on Christmas Eve. (p. 1545)
Julia Briggs, in The Times Literary Supplement (© Time Newspapers Ltd. (London) 1976; reproduced from The Times Literary Supplement by permission), December 10, 1976.
This is a free excerpt of 128 words. There are 270 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Garfield, Leon 1921–: Critical Essay by Julia Briggs Access Pass.
