Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-05-07
New BooKSH
81 In ReWeM2R
A NnreI in Ten Volumes.

a Novel IN Ten #oiuuAeHs
There has Just come into my pos
session novel in ten volumes, thus
putting to shame the conventional
three-volume novel of the Victorian
period land after" The work Is
called Jean Christophe." It has
been translated into English, but l
have not seen, the translation. The
author is Roman ROLAND. He has
been at work on the book for twenty
years. For those whose curiosity
may be aroused by the following
summary of Jean Christophe" It
may be said that the translation is
published by Heinemann, of London.
1t is declared by an authority whose
judgment cannot be questioned that
this translation is so superior that
nothing like 1t has been seen since
there appeared that version of
classic from the pen of Able Tencln,
transferred to language not his
own that astonished the literary
world. Jean Christophe" adds an
other work to that marvellous collec-
ton of French fiction of different
periods, the like of which cannot be
found in any other literature It
has all the imagination that charac-
terizes every one of this collection; 1t
is as naive in its style as most OF
them. and it is as frank in its reve-
lations of the life and thoughts and
actions of its hero as any OF them
without the Objectionable details OF
some among them. One cannot read
1t without thinking of Restif de la
hi MT an
his Monsieur Nicolas" or his "Nuits
de Paris Again, its wonderful pre-
sentiment of feminine characters, with
their rich variety of beautiful, allur-
ing names. brings to mind the me-
moires of that scapegraee, Casanova.
Yet, again, when one reviews the
marvellous fertility of incident in the
ten volumes, there is recalled the
riches of the Rougon- Macquart series
of the prince of realists, zola-
Jean Christophe" is divided into
periods, the method of Goethe, as set
forth in "Wilhelm Meister." The
first of these are "L'Aube" and lie
Matin-"Dawn" and Morning"
In these is found the genealogy
of Jean Christophe, who is the son
of a musician of the Rhine country
At IA the boy becomes the head of
the family and supports them by per-
forming In the musical encourage Of
the reigning grand duke Of the
province. At Is he becomes acquainted
for the first time with a woman, and
from this period until the end the
influence of femininity is continuous
in his life. OF course, his first en-
counter breeds passionate love, which
is described as delightfully."- as in
"L'Homme Qui, Rit" These different
episodes of love and passion take the
form which Restif de la Bretonne
employed in Monsieur Nicolas" but
it need not be feared by the intend
ing reader that he will be shocked by
any of the unseemly elaboration Of
that author. 1t is the next period,
that of storm and Stress (the
"Sturm und Drang'' of Goethe that
is found perhaps the most beautiful
passage Of the book. 1t Is that Of
Jean Christophe's love for his first
male friend, the boy Olivier. Jean
Christophe had fled to Paris, driven
thither by the loss of his position in
the grand duchy. Like the great
Berlioz, he had revolted at conven-
tions, had composed and had pub
lished music which was regarded as
revolutionary, and had been rejected
by the German Philistines They
could not understand him any more
than the "betise'' of Paris could APP
preciate the genius who became the
unapproachable master of orchestra
ton. Jean Christophe in Paris, as
usual, met a young wirl and took her to
the play. He soon discovered that she
was the sister of Olivier. Thus com
mences the idyl1 called "Antoinette."
The beauty of the character of this
girl, her self-sacrifice and affection
for her brother Olivier, are described
In moving language But this is only
one of the episodes that may be COM
pared to those of THE Coincide
Humane" Indeed, the book Is 1.-THE
Coincide Humane of our own day.
1t Is life, and Its motive is the search
for truth, AS has been said, the book
cannot be thought of at all without
1t Instantly reminding one of the
classics of literature, with which it
will rank. No summary OF the
literary masterpieces of the TWEEN
tieth century will be complete with
out an exhaustive estimate of this
book. Indeed, Jean Christophe is
called the Peer Gynt of the twentieth
century.