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Show Author's Latest Book Is Reviewed by Dorothy Kea, Provo for the Springville Herald (Editor's Note A review of Mrs. Sorenson's book was also given in the Herald's column, "What's New In The Library" some time ago.) Virginia Eggertsen Sorensen, former resident of Springville, has published her fifth novel, "The Proper Gods" and in so doing has sounded a new note of triumph in her superb understanding of her subject. "The Proper Gods" has for its setting a Mexican town of Potam occupied by Yaqui Indians. This is the home of Adan Savala, his parents, his grandfather, Achai, his Bisters Juana and Salamina and Salamina's husband and baby. Adan, a Yaqui boy, is returning to his home from service with the United States Army when the reader meets him. From the first introduction, the reader feels Mrs. Sorensen's remarkable re-markable ability "to live the life of her character." It is hard to imagine ima-gine as the chapters pass that a woman has created the character of Adan. He is flesh and blood and all masculine. The refreshing story of modern life among the Indians is especially espec-ially welcomed by Western readers read-ers who have become indoctrinated with horor tales of the Indians as related to early-day living in Utah. Mrs. Sorensen's Indian family is a warm-blooded generous crowd, steeped in ancient tradition but keeping the swift pace of the changes in their world. Interwoven with the solid day-by-day living of the Indians are the gay fiestas and solemn ceremonials cere-monials which Mrs. Sorsen has sprinkled through the book with convincing authenticity. Old Achai, Adan's grandfather, has been personified by the gifted writer os one Indian possessing all the qualities of an entire people. Achai is the wisdom, the remembrance, remem-brance, the promise, the despair and the vengeance of all his people. peo-ple. When, in the final pages of the book, the old man is laid to rest it is like the end of one dramatic dra-matic era when a way of life is finished. The eternity to which Achai looked was "Loria, which is a place of flowers and dancing." This heaven of the Yaqui Indian is conceived in sharp contrast to the actual existance in the adobe village as painted by the actual existance in the adobe village as painted by the author. Adan's return to his people from army life and modern living was softened by his meeting with Micaela an dthe ensuing tender love and affection which they enjoyed. en-joyed. When Adan goes on an erand to the garrison office he contrasts the way of life with his own: "He had felt contentment here, at least because of Micaela, and many of the things he had noticed with discontent at first were slipping slip-ping out of mind. Now he felt sharp and bitter contrast between the neat interior of the garrison office with its paved floor and sturdy polished furniture, and the rough poles and the hard dirt of his own houseyard when he came back to it." In this paragraph lies the seed of 'Adan's story. Through more than 300 pages, the author holds her reader with the roots and branches which spring from the seed. Other works by Mrs. Sorensen are "A Little Lower Than the Angels"; "On this Star"; "The Neighbors"; and "The Evening and the Morning." |