Oxford Democrat., 1921-06-14
'sDust.''

A novel has recently been published
by Brentano, New York, written by Mr..
and Mrs. z. Haldeman.J ulius, whiob
has been considerably praised and oriti
cised. It 10 about farm life, and very
few stories have been written about OF
around this calling. Il isa bold, tragic
story, not very complimentary to this
kind Of life, but the Oxford County read
or may gain some consolation because
the setting OF this tale is laid In Kansas
nevertheless the sore spot touched can
be found in any rural community. It is
written by practical farmers, people who
have grown up and blown up In Kansas,
80 know what they are talking, or rather
writing about. 1t is we'll worth reading
and considering. Following is q review
from The Nation:
"'Dust' Is strong, spare, brief book.
1t is gray as granite, but through the
stone runs crimson vein of tragedy.
The authors have probably lived among
the boomers and boosters among
those who have professionally repre-
sented the opening of the Mississippi
Valley as one long romance and the
personal lives OF the pioneers as unde-
viatingly idyllic. Yet their book 10 no
counter. blast; there is no werd of polem.
ICE; the objectivity of vision is scrupu-
lously observed. But there is the clear
est seeing and the deepest probing.
"The story concerns itself with one
man and one woman who loom very
large but never melt into symbols.
Through them the land and Its people
and its history are seen. Thus all de-
tail is highly concentrated and given in
the shape OF its psychological effects.
There is no set description OF scene
either, but the sense of the prairie is
pervasive and the Kansas dust comes
finally to seem gritty between one's
teeth. In this dust the pioneers them
selves perished. Their son, Martin
Wade, survived and prospered. But
the harsh necessity of wringipg the land
from the wilderness, and then the fer.
tility from the land, leaves him, despite
bis energy and rough intelligence, q
stunted creature, q slave of field and
plow, barn and byre. He is rooted to
the soil by pain, by kind of hunger,
by siubbornness, by lovely q sense OF
conflict and deep sense of possession
that grows out of conflict. He marries
vaguely-marries poor Rose for COM
panionship and cooking and the care of
chickens and then with a blank, mslig-
nant unconsciousness wresks vengeance
on her because she never had any magic
for him. Ho is miser and bully; be
stints bis wife and son cruelty to put the
money into machinery and farm build.
ings. He reduces her to premature de-
cay and drives the boy to the coal fields
and so to his death. But he has starved
his own nature with an equal 6erceness.
When he is far past fifty, beauty comes
suddenly and breaks him and the un.
known possibilities of life food his
heart. But 1t is, of course, too late. |
Dust is bis portion. The farm even kills
him before bis time. Then q traction
company sweeps the farm away and all |
bis toll and poverty of soul have availed
nothing. Rose Ia rich and old and free
and futile and reflects vaguely on Mar |
tins wasted life and death.
1.-THE book is profoundly honest and
incorporating. But 1t is quite with |
out needless subtlety. The authors
have 30 mastered and absorbed their |
that they could project 1t by
the starkest methods and In few brief |
chapters. Its union of brevity and com. |
pleteness makes Dust q notable con- |
tribution to the new fiction in America. |
1t Is forceful and exact, calm and lumi- |
nous. 1t would come near being little
mast sterpiece If the diction itself were
more sensitively selected and more finely
tempered, II the stylistio workmanship
were In the most liberal and creative
sense more literary in character"