Bernice Rubens Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Gerry Clark

Critical Essay by Gerry Clark

Bernice Rubens, a very proper British writer, has written a very proper British novel. Sly and witty, Sunday Best is as entertaining an afternoon's divertisement as has been published in many a day. (pp. 203-04)

Ruben's writing is delightful throughout. Wickedly understated and tongue-in-check, she never lets the parody slip away from her and become farce. George is odd, but rapidly wins the readers' sympathy because of his vulnerability and talent for honest appraisal. His dowdy wife, Joy, and his crazed mother are also presented touchingly and believably. The writing, part straight-ahead narration and part first-person memoirs, is deceptively simple, and exceptionally clear.

Gerry Clark, "Fiction: 'Sunday Best'," in Best Sellers (copyright © 1980 Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation), Vol. 40, No. 6, September, 1980, pp. 203-04.