Books: Recent & Readable: Aug. 19, 1940

FRUIT OUT OF ROCK—Frances Gillmor—Duell, Sloan & Pearce ($2.50). In this gently tragic idyl of the Arizona irrigation country Amanda loves her valley orchards, Stephen loves his mesa-browsing goats, Amanda and Stephen love each other. Drought sears the pasture lands, threatens to dehydrate the romance: valley grasses can save the starving goats or protect the orchards from floods. Stephen with his goats conquers the trees in Amanda’s heart. But a flash flood drowns Stephen, leaves unwed Amanda to raise figs, peaches and Stephen’s posthumous baby. Author Gillmor’s tale has some of the fresh clarity of desert air.

TUMBLEWEEDS—Marta Roberts—Putnam ($2.50). This sympathetic study of simple, pious, maternal Concha Garcia subjects her strong spirit to much woe and a strange, alien world of Norteamericanos. By page two the reader suspects that Peón Pedro Garcia will lose his California section-gang job. But by chapter two the reader finds that there is little Steinbeck in this chronicle of adversity: Faith in the Saints supports Mama Garcia in preserving her Pedro’s self-respect, her large brood’s health and virtue. Pedro lacks Faith, succumbs to relief, gin, a jalopy. So Concha leaves him, tries alone to support her niños by toil, Faith and scheming. Primitive instinct at last leads her back to Pedro for reconciliation.