The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-11

The new form Of realism which has
broken out in England seems to have
affected Anthony Hope In writing "A
Young Mans Year" (Appletons). The
new art consists in picking out a COM
monplace life and describing IL in
minute detail. carefully avoiding any
incidents which might he significant
or appear 10 warrant the writing OF a
book. In this case we have a year In
the life of n youth just starting 10
practise law; he Is abnormally attrac-
tive 10 women for some reason, and
the author describes his erotic ad-
ventures. or rather the mental proc
esses of all the persons engaged In
watching his progress. He near
becoming engaged to IA young woman
connected with trade, but In saved i'm
time by n married relative, who in
PRODUCES him 10 the aristocratic part
OF his family. Though he admires this
lady greatly, and his admiration sur
wives her abandoning her husband and
child and clipping with another man
he is much more deeply fascinated w.
the idea of the family. He comes to
worship hh family 30 strongly that
the reader may doubt whether It is
love that attracts him to the right
young at the end or the more
important fact that she Is a member
OF the family. He Is helped along by
a fatherly Judge and is left fairly
started on the road to professional
success. Everybody talks and thinks
brightly, including the author in his
long dlssections OF motives. Morals
would seem to be part of nobody's life.
II 1t were possible to regard any char
acter in the book as "A living person
instead of n puppet moving at the au-
thor's will. The lack of life makes
ever the cynical theft of a friends
wife seem innocuous, for 1t is obviously
devised to enable the author to pre-
sent his arguments. There is much
that is amusing and smart in the book.
but 1t does not make what story there
Is very interesting.
Another sacrifice 10 mistaken ideals
OF art will be found in Mary IIallock
Foote'S The Valley Road tHoughton
Miffln Company, where the essentials
are left out and what story there II
is told indirectly. We take 1t to bc the
epic of a New England woman. who
bravely accompanies her husband into
the West, endures the life, and. when
she has lone her duty quietly and un-
consciously, returns home. We have
the pedigree OF the husband and the
description OF the noble task he has
taken up, and after so much prepara-
ton are taken aback at his sudden
removal; we have the manly fight her
Son puts up in Corea and at home,
fragments Of his love affair with a
high spirited missionary's daughter
and the effect on the mother; we have
also the winning OF her self-reliant
daughter by a determined middle
aged man. We are puzzled that all
these people disclose their secrets TO
persons who blab and make trouble;
We are puzzled at the family's declin-
ing to receive favors from a rich rela-
tive. who seems no more wicked than
other rich people who help them.
Touches In the intimacies between
women and some sharp things said
about n few may be helped by i'm
p~ressionistic method, but the story IL
not. At the start the author seems
dissatisfied with the normal construc-
ton of English and the use Of prepo-
s%itions; she gets over it after a time.