The Washington herald., 1922-03-12
WITH LTERAT
Latest Novel of Madeline
Marx Is Too High, in Key
"You" Contains Good Descriptions But, Like
Modern Music, Registers Dissonances
Other Books.

essays about the immortal Three
House for Lunch Club. about Going
to Philadelphia, about Salamis. his
suburban home, about Joseph Con-
rad. about books and dogs and all
sorts of pleasant topics. And II we
had never read anything else by
this young gentleman we should cry
aloud. Here at last is a young
American who can write without
wsiling, and who. moreover. writes
well" As 1t Is We have a vague.
unhappy feeling that Mr.. Morley Is,
overworkinE his own articular line,
and we wish he would not work IL
so hard. We wish, also. that he did
not persist in SO definite and visible
line II he burst forth suddenly
with a roaring burlesque, or with n
thrilling detective story that said
nothing at all about the Joys OF
pipe-smoking or the charms OF
bookshops. downtown New York or
Philadelphia, we would guarantee
to enjoy it and tell everyone else
to 20 and do likewise. For there is
one thing certain, whatever Mr..
Morley writes, he writes with COM
plete control of the English lam
guage. that is to say. with style.
But plum Pudding" does not in
spire us. charming though the es-
says be, to advising all readers to
purchase II. for the simple reason
that II seems to us too much like
refteration. II you have not read
any OF Morley's essays, then by all
means buy this and become ,ac-
quainted. You will find him a IRE
freshinE companion. But IL, like US,
you have read everything that ne
has written you will join US in our
feeling OF dissatisfaction. or shall
we say boredom? For even refresh
ing companions can become dull il
they insist on refreshing you In eI-
actls the same manner day after
day. Yet all this sounds, after all,
too unfair to Mr.. Morley, who is a
writer OF promise and may be suf-
fering merely from writing too
much and too fast. The truth is
that it is because we believe ne has
promise that the reading OF Plum
Pudding. has led US to this gloomy
suggestion that he turn a new page.
The Dreamers,- by Knut Hamsun.
"a. A. Enopf)
the American brand. It Is not
quiet. and often cruel. These peo-
pie who are in "The Dreamers" are
not caricatures doing grotesque
things. Rather they are human
enough, somewhat absurd and con-
tInuauy in the most absurd situa-
tions.
The pastor with his deadly
esrnestness and interminable let
ters to the erring members of his
flock. the pastors wife, "a sweet,
and lovely torment In the house
more .tormenting than lovely to the
pastor-trader Mack whose reputa-
ton was ruined and whose peace OF
mind was destroyed by being
robbed. and Rolandsen. the hero.
who gets drunk. is unhappy in love
and invents a new kind OF glue
they are figures skillfulIy drawn
and mildly comic. In this book
Hamsun reveals an aspect of his
genius which is wholly. absent in
Hunger apd only suggested in
Growth OF the Soil" and in Pan"
"The Story Lsdys hook by
Georgene Faulkner (Small,
Maynard and Company.
Here are stories for every month
in the year-fifty in all. Miss
Faulkner appears to have justified
her claim as champion answerer of
the familiar question: Tell US a
story" These stories - many of
which have appeared in the Ladies'
Home Journal, are on all subjects
which appeal to children from
fairies to Indians. The book ought
to be most cheerfully welcomed by
parents who are being hard pressed
by their offspring to provide enter
tainment in the shape of new and
interesting stories.
"Wild Blood.' by Gordon Young
(Bobbs-MerrilD.
This is what undoubtedly should
be described as a "he-story" Its
scene is the South Seas. Its hero
is Hurricane Williams. who would
be a bad man to meet in the South
Seas or any other secluded spot /
ne Is lne klnu OF outlaw VINO does
his law-5reaking in order that JUS
tice may be served. That is al
ways. exciting. and Hurricane Will
liams' adventures are no exception
to the rule. If one is. harboring
any suppressed desires to break
laws and spill blood, he should read
this book. It might save him a lot
of inconvenience.
Twin Tales, by Arthur Stringer
Bobbs-MerrilD.
The first of the two stories con-
tained in this volume is called "Are
All Men Alike" and tells of the ad-
ventures of a young lady possess
ing wealthy parents who goes to
Village to find out II all |
men are alike. She discovers that |
in one respect at least they are
there is no general disincltnation |
to kiss pretty girls. But unless |
there were one man different. there |
would be no story. and there is a |
story undoubtedly. clever and |
amusing one. The second story. !
THE Lost Titan" has to do with |
the discovery of a masterpiece in a |
strange, secluded place in Ontario. |
where It is guarded by two old