Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-12
BOOK REVIEWS.

THE OLYMPIAN, a Story of the City:
BY James Oppenheim. author or
THE Nine-Tenths," etc. New YORK:
Harper & Bros.
r. OPPENHEIM'S "Olympian"
NH is laboratory product. MI
vN croscope and camera developed
it. Lying along beside these
must have been innumerable
little notebooks. ruled and squared to the
tersest terms of truth and. at the last.
hulging with transcriptions of appear
ances, conditions and reactions. The ca
reer of Kirby Trask in the commercial
maelstrom of modern New York Is pur-
sued here by this man of letters with no
less scrupulous rigor than marks the man
of science in his quest OF homic1dal
bacillus or eugenical possibility. The
story throughout has the clean focus of
biography. 1t is, however, more COM
polling than any save the most excep-
tional of biographies, since the author, as
romancer has used his right to set the
type above the individual, stressing the
latter in color and meaning by the power
of composite human nature. In its pc
ginning and along the middle courses TINS
story Is that of thousands of overconfi-
dent. unframed youths who have found
New York, or any other monstrouS city,
to be only cruel arena whose WHO
beasts are fiercer than those of ancient
EphesuS. old Rome, or modern SeVlie.
The gathered and organized detail or
this period of young Trask's life is a
model of literary realism. 1t Is also
body of expert testimony lighting up the
same period in the lives of thousands OF
boys and men drifting about that most
unhuman of human inventions, a great
city Perhaps this picture is the real
point of the story. 1t will prove to be
20 ially Ylind od RQv0n0
period Trask's story becomes that of the
few, of the half dozen or less. who out
of obscurity have risen toward the top
of financial and social power. This 1t is
nowadays to be an Olympian. Olympus
is no longer sunny hill summit In
ancient Greece where trumpery gods play
lascivious tricks on the earth-oorn
Olympus is an inspiring skyscraping
money factory upon whose pinnacles the
lords of wealth stand looking off upon the
worlds inequalities and bending their
splendid energies to multiplying and deep
ening these gaps between man and man.
This romance, a marvel of seeing and I'M
derstanding, dramatizes the biggest thing
in modern life-big businessman fits 1t
throughout with a splendid cast of char
acters. The indirect message here may
be social It's direct. outstanding appeal,
on the contrary. is to the individual, to
the boy and the young man, to make the
fight for Olympianship in this kaleido-
scopic modern world of boundless re-
source and opportunity.
MARRIAGE. By H. G. Wells, author Of
The New Machiavelli," ETC. New
York: Duffield & Co.
Mr.. Wells hand works here in the
full habit of scientific methods, while his
voice is tuned to the mellow tones Of
romance. Out of this partnership there
energies an important and impressive
novel-in substance, serious study OF
the common state of marriage and its ap-
proaches by way of the thrifty. concerted
action of parents in marrying Off, their
sufficiently common in theme, however,
to make it at home in any place The
obvious purpose here Is to round the COM
mon, unbroken miscarriage to its full in
dividual and social meaning. This Is not
a preachment. 1t is a picture-moSt life
Hke-containing no additions to the bare
truth and no subtractions from 1t. OBJ
servation. record. defendable interpreta-
transmission-thesea are the agents Of this
social study. Curiously, last week there
came to hand a similar nOvel-the theme
identical with this one, the issue the
same, il, too. written by man. In both
cases it is the husband in this mismat-
ing who possesses high vision, noble in
tent, a Self-denying spirit, patient devo-
ton and almost parental care. In
both cases it is the wife who proves sad
1y inadequate. uncomprehending. immoral,
insincere. The household. in both cases,
is held in self-respecting bond by the
large wisdom of the husband. This curl
Gus unanimfty of outlook on the part Of
two undeniably superior students and
writer's means nothing at all, but 1t is in
tereSting.
THE HONEYMOON; Comedy in Three
Acts. By Arnold Bennett, author of
The Old Wives Tale etc. New
York: George III. Doran Company.
The ambitious though average reader
approaches Arnold Bennett in a specially
induced state Of mind. Here is young
author who has leaped full-panoplied into
the very center of the>ring drawn around
the modern literary elect About him
cults arise To the sterling quality Of
his genius voices innumerable bear wit
ness. To be sure. these voices are COM
monty those of women, voices of culture
and quasi-culture. Again. to be sure,
these literary judgments are neither over
logically nor overintelligibly stated.
Rather are they put out in the tones of
emotion-in "OhS!' and "Ahs'' and signs
of altogether inexpressible delight But.
despite these puZzling incoherencies. their
volume and their numbers cannot be
gainsaid- And the average reader con-
fesses to the weakness-if it be a weak
ness-of liking to be in the full tide of
the reading vogue So he encourages
the habit of going to Mr.. Bennett in open
and amiable mood He desires to find
sweetness in the fountain from which
so many quaff in ecstasy He wishes to
be pIeased-and tries to be. Take the
case In hand. He would like immensely
to see the fine comedy of 1.-The Honey
moon.H TO realize its quaint situation, its
wit it's grace, its flavor of human nature.
its essence of subtle action. its gathered
and ordered beauty of comedy.
There is no use. The average reader
must try. try again" to shape his dull
wit TO see here more than somewhat
stupid farce whose single saving grace is
young woman of only fair intellect.
Swamped. however. in a morass of human
miasmatic commonplaceness, the young
woman, by contrast. does emit certain
sIow-worm radiance. AS a mere ex-
ternality the farce, too, is handicapped by