Grand Forks herald., 1922-01-16

are gems which glisten upon the pages
of the book. He is a general OF words.
He commands the English language
and it responds in troops and bat
talions OF words which obey his will,
express his thought, convey his subt-
lest emotion. si gs 4
His dialogues are boldly conceived
and skillfully executed. The marvel
is that q. stream of animated and
pointed and pithy conversation flows
throughout the book Of some four.
hundred pages. A writer OF mediocre
gifts can contribute an occasional pas
sage of dialogue which sparkles, but
1t takes a man Of unusual ability to
keep the conversation and repartee
.nfe-like and animated for hundreds
OF pages. The give and take, ques-
ton and answer, the challenge and re-
tort are all dressed in the language
of living people. When DR.. Will Ken
nicott in his estimate Of his fellow
practitioners in Gopher Prairie ooo-
old icoQt, knowing enough medicine
to find the index In Gray's Anatomy.
although he cannot be induced to stop
playing poker to keep a pneumonia
patient from choking to death, you
remember that a physician in Topeka,
Kansas, said the same thing about
another doctor.
Mr., Lewis is a master of character
ization. ), The characters of his book
are not described and labeled; they
are rather introduced and then per-
themselves. They are not puppets me-
chanically controlled. They are not
pawns pushed about by some external
force. They talk and act from the in
side out and not from the outside In.
They are moved by n inward compul-
sion by their own temperamental and
moral qualities. The reader praises or
blames them and not their creator,
Mr.. Lewis. OF the important char
their being In the book it would be
hard to discover one that lacks indi-
viduality. q
An incidental character is often in
troduced and quickly dismissed with
a passing allusion to some physical
trait as when Carol in going down
the street glances in the window OF
3.the barbershop and glimpses the ton
serial artist shaving a man with q
prominent Adams apple. The refer
ence, to the big Adams apple arouses
in the mind of the reader a sense OF
familiarity with that character. Some
times a character reveals his theory
land practice of life in a single state
ment, as.when>Nat Hicks. town tailor
and roue, advises DR.. Kennicott that
the, waY.Sto manage wives is to gel
them young, treat them rough. and
tell them nothing. It+does not re.
quire much of the golden gift Of the
| imagination to visualize the domestic
life. OF Mr.. and Mrs. Nat Hicks Il.
DIR. Kennicott is the life of the com.
pany which Mr.. Lewis created. The
! personal. traits Of the country docto,
are often decidedly offensive, but III
is Nkeable despite his vulgarity; there
ture and a rough sense Of Justice and
honesty that Offsets his lack of re
straint The professional life Of tn,
doctor is described with a warmth
and intimacy. with :. wealth of detail
i and medical terms and situations tina
y sllmakeSt esfa-d d. -rendhr Whit source
Il of insight anSl i:of0l:Ta tionF were at TIL
ltauthor's dIspcsa'. SAs N; matter b
fact and explanati-n the father o
Mr. Lewis was a physician. Far re
moved from the doctor of the olt
school immortalized in "The Bonni
Brier Bush DR.. Kennicott is never
theless a man who can be aroused a
two o'clock in the morning by a farm
!. err, drive miles into the country owe
rough roads. take charge OF con
. fused household and operate on
woman lying on a kitchen table. re
turn at six, shake down the furnac
and fall upon his bed for few hour
J Of sleep before the farmers begin t.
come to town for treatment and re
gard it all as part of the routine o
!, his: professional life.
AS piece Of writing Main Stree
} is a. credit to a writer in the middl
: thirties. 1t has produced a literature
several books and many articles an
: reviews, most of them taking issu
: with it, having been published an
, widely. circulated.
Most readers Of the book find them
: selves in strenuous opposition to tn
| central contention that the small tow
is a,together hopeless. The autho
, describes the offensive features of tn
3 small town but ignores It's aEreeabl
and constructive elements. Mr.. Lew
} is evidently does not love the sna
, town, in fact he seems to loathe j
: from the depths Of his being. Th
} book is an explosion of accumulate
-dislikes and personal antagonisms.
seems to be an outlet for the ill-wi
he appears to bear the, small town.
testers in his soul like a splinter i
: the flesh. it irritates him like for
elgn DOQV IN tIe eye IL nurtS MIN ltk
> the toothache. In this state of min
he can see only the seamv side Of tn
: town and naturally is blind to tn
Y other side.
He overshoots the mark when h
: insists that Gonher Prairie. is typi
: cal town. He claims that Main Stree
y is the continuation of the Mai
Streets everywhere. He says that tn
r story of Main Street in Ohio. or Mon
t tana or Kentuckv. or Illinois woul
l be the same. This is simDly not SC
) Perhaps Gopher Prarie exists: ther
= may be a town the sordfdness an
= dl1llnaSu af which is unrelieYed b