New-York tribune., 1922-05-28


L " fees, the book trade in this
country is beginning 20 re-
vive This only means that the best
sellers every day, IN every way. are
selling better and better. 1t certainly
does not mean that the reviewers are
getting their tables piled up with new
books OF outstanding merit by new
writer's. Indeed. the strike of the
muses. IS far from being adjusted.
They still seem to be sulky after the
war and are apparently yielding to no.
body's Establishments.
The principal literary sensation Of
the NJ oment in London is MIR. j. Middle
ton Murrys long and appreciative ar
t!cle, IN the current number Of The
Nation and Athenaeum.' on James
Joyces "Ulysses." Perhaps | ought to
most respected (and most highly re-
spectable) literary critics, and that
"Ulysses' where it would be intelligiblc
to our maiden aunts would certainly
send them off into Mysteries. The DO
lice authorities have, ! believe. already
regarded some OF its pages with a
jaundiccd eye.
But here is Mr.. Murry: "Mr. Joyce
Wie.dS magic omparable to that Of
Goethe in the second part Of Faust
or Of DostoevsAy in Ivan's Dream In
this part Of 'Ulysses'-let us say it
plalnl ). in order that we may have
oar share Of the contempt or the glory
a hundred years hence-a genius Of
the very highest order. strictly com
parable 10 Goethe's or DostoevskyAs
is evident"
ter this courageous pronounce
10, o,.,- I -.
with It's mouth open, the verdict Of the
riVal pontn, Mr. j. c. Squire. And
how will Ezra Pound react? Surely
he ought az last to receive MIR Murrv
back into the fold and forgive him his
earlier critical errors. The recogni-
tion which .Ioyccs work has received
from our wcighticst authorities is due
IN great measure to Ezra Pounds gal
iant enthusiasm and to his tircless
activity As propagandist. For his
long campaign on behalf Of this dis
turbne genius he has Of course re
ce!ved plenty Of kicks and no thanks.
But virtue is, provcrbially, It's own re-
ward.
Whatever else may have resulted
from tho publication of "UIvsses." il
has certainly ratified our Younger writ
ers; many Of them are already making
frantic efforts 10 initiate Joyce's tech
nlque and to plumb, like him. the mud
dy depths Of the subconssous. The
results will probably be ghastlv-if
they over get into print In any case
ulysses" has given the novel" as the
term used TO be understood. its last
and deadIiest shock. He would indeed
be bold man to-day who attempted
TO define the novel or hint at any im
t'tlons OF its scope and possibilities.
/ 4 Nd yet. as strict art form" the
"A novel had decided boom in Enc.
land in the five years preceding the
war After the novelsts the poets had
their innings. But the poets have all
become reviewers and have now killed
each other by excessive mutual ad
mratlon. For the moment their day
is over too. What is 20 come next?
Apparently, if one can Judge from the
present publishing season, it is to be
the short story.
Messrs. Chapman & Hall seem to be
,of the same opinion, for they are short
ly issuing CO lection of Georgian
Short Stories,' with what result it will
be interesting to see. The editor of
the volume is Mr. Arnold Lunn, an Al
pine sportsman, who wrote book about
Harrow but is otherwise unknown to
literary fame. 1t will. however, CON
tam between its covers work by such
skilled writers as W. S. Maugham,
Katharine Mansfield and May Sinclair.
On the question Of what constitutes
good" short story there must,
think, be considerable divergence of
opinion between English and American
critics. Mr.. Maughsm's South Sea
volume. "Ihe Trembling of Leaf"
had pronounced literary success here;
! tor tDo;1
sidered as. of its kind, masterpiece.
Yet I noticed the other day in an
American literary review of high stand
ing that the book was dismissed as a
| collection of potboilers, a carelessly
written rehash of other mems ex-
| periences.
1t will come as a surprise to Mr..
Maugham's acquaintances to hear that
he is reduced to writing stories to paw
his gas bills-we thought his plays did
that for him. and left bit over
The charge that they are potboilers
certainly cannot be made either against
the stories in Miss Katharine Mans
fields new collection, "The Garden
Party or against these in Mr.. Aldous
Huxley's new volume, mortal Coils"
These books have proved, perhaps, the
two most interesting publications of
the present season. Some of the praise
| showered upon Miss Mansfeld's work
has seemed to me exec essve-she is not
p Ichekov still less a Turgenev-but
within her limitations she is unoues
tlonably an artist. The same is true
| of Aldous Huxley, though his imita
tlons are stricter and he has even less
OF the universally of genius than Miss
Mansfield. But in his detached. humor-
Gus, scholarly, fanta site way, how we'll
he does it,
Norman Douglas. the author of
South Wind and "They Went" and
also of several inimitable travel books
has just written to me from Florence
to say he is hard at work" Most of
nus admirers will hope that the new
book may turn out to be another novel
OF to-day. 1t is time that South
Wind had a successor D. H. Law
renee, having completed his great
trilogy with Aaron $ Rod" is now in
Ceyion' Francis Brett Young remains
IN Italy. at Taormna, and Louis wiz
lnson. novelist Of small output. but
OF growing prestige. has Just arrived
IN, Florence. What jolly lives the
other fellows 1ea6t