New-York tribune., 1919-08-02
saul -
Novel of Jewish Life
By a Gentle Writer

Saul" by corinnc Lowe. Published by
James A. Mccain Company,
"What insight has a Gentle Of The
home life of the jew" PROFOUND the
publishers of Corinne Loves "Saul."
"Can any Gentle really understand
Jewish traits and characteristics we'll
enough to embody them in a novel
which portrays an intimate idea of the
development of the Jewish character" ?"
To both questions we would emphati-
cally answer "No," were we to judge
only by Corinne loves novel. She has
not shown us the family life of the
Jew. She has written of the Jew not
in his home but in his business, and
even there she has depicted him as
little different from the Gentle, except
in his manner of speaking.
Saul, the chief character of the book,
is imbued with love Of beauty,
whether in color. line, form or woman;
but the cramped surroundings of his
childhood, his early manhood struggle
to gather sufficient capital to live as he
would wish almost crush his aesthetic
appreciation. To the patient love and
understanding Of his wife, Channah, a
splendid type of noble womanhood,
Saul owes his final regeneration and
much of his success in business.
To us Channah, rather than Saul,
was the most interesting character in
the novel. And in her is depicted all
the artistry, the idcalism, the sensitive
appreciation of fitness and high stand
ards which characterize the high
minded Jew. Had Cornne Lowe shown
Saul more often at home with Channah
She might have succeeded in catching
in her pages the peculiarly intimate
and close companionship Of the Jew
and his family. All the romance that
is slipping out of the modern American
bodied in the Jews Interpretation of it.
His is still clan life. His friends are
always welcome because they are Jews,
and all that he works for, all that he
| sacrifices, is done not for the resulting
success in itself but in order that his
family may have greater happiness.
Like the French wife his is more than
an admirable housekceper, charming
hostess and agreeable companion. In
her he contides his plans. She works in
league with him and more often than
not takes an active part in his business
life.
This latter side of the Jewish char
acter Corlnne Lowe has caught and
accurately transcribed. She has failed,
however, to show the most significant
characteristic of the modern Jew-his
Keen mental appreciation which glows
like the exposed end of live wire 1t
is this which is driving him ahead of
all other competitors in our schools,
our businesses and our professions.
he jew is endowed with sensitive
appreciation of worth, an appreciation
which leads him to make a mental
possession of the best works of litera-
ture. He possesses an Unsuitable, almost
pathetic hunger for information which
drives him to draw into himself knowl-
edge OF everything useful. All this
Corinne Lowe misses
AS piece OF character DEVELOPMENT
her drawing of Saul is done with
strong and sweeping strokes. He fails
because he uses the same unscrupuous
methods, the same inflexible harshness
that in his childhood terrified and dis
gusted him. Even while he conducts
hls business in a way she feels is
moral Y wrong Channah Loyalty stands
by him, attempting to guide him
aaright' Even when he is swept off his
Ieet by moments infatuation for
fa'th Severance, brilliant, beautiful
and clear headed business woman.
hannah remains faithful And with
failure comes to Saul the realization of
ms mistakes and the magnificent love
of his wife.
In spite of her failure to catch the
pecuilarly fine and close family life of
the sensitive Jew, Corinne Lowe has
written an entertaining and appealing
novel of business, with characters
Whlch stand out as genuine and sub
stantial ~ ~