Commitment

For the first offering competently weaves scads of historical detail into her tale of Carol Simon`s journey from childhood ease in t he 1920s to a hard-won position as wife, mother and career woman in the 1970s. Despite her father`s suicide during the Depression an d an early forced marriage and widowhood, Carol continues to nurture her dream of becoming an architect. She moves to Manhattan, fin ds a job and mingles with a bohemian circle that includes idealistic Southern writer Seth Walden. Although separated by WW II, the t wo meet again in Paris and this time they wed. Their marriage has many vicissitudes: Seth, an unsuccessful writer, is blacklisted du ring the McCarthy era, and the couple move with their two children to his Georgia hometown. After many setbacks, Carol succeeds in h er career while Seth becomes increasingly bitter and insecure. Aside from marriage crises, there are problems with the children and within their community. Although the plot of this rags-to-riches story is often predictable, it is redeemed by the author`s obvious respect for certain ideals and her likable characters.

• author: Julie Ellis