New-York tribune., 1922-06-04
A Neglected Irish Novelist
By Ernest BOYD

lacks q plot. II tells no story like
Spanish Cold; II relates no scenes
Of country life, IN the come o. sen;i-
mental manner; Il eschews the ariable
oscillations Of Adam o. Dublin
II parallel be sought j. will be
found. strange b say. IN "a Portrait
of the Artist as Young Nan" Not
that the morbid ictros7cclion and
analysis Of James Joyce have thei-
counterpart in tnc work O. Daniei
Corscry. bB. bo,l writer rave given
their books the iuchoste form 20 which
the Russian noyc.s;s have reconciled
US. The former has written a savage
and. 70 some minds. shocking indict-
ment o. Dublin; the latter has gently
drawn aside tac curtain and softly IL
luminsted the quiet and obscure cor
ners - Cork.
ONE thinks o. chekov and Dos'oiev-
" SKY while reading The Threshold
Of Quiet" for only IN Russian htera-
ture does one find the portrayal of such
secluded and 1ncventfsl lives as drift
through these pages, as they drift
through The Cherry Orchard" or
Uncle Vanya" The mysterious death
o. Frank Dresnan broods over the
whole book, bit 10 occurs at the begin
ming and is the occasion Of TO greater
suspense in the reader than was Ras-
kolnikov's crime in Dostoicvskys mas
tcrp.ece. for al. Corkery's skill in al.
loving the truth Of the suicide to
erysta!iize slowly and siyly in the
minds OF the circle whose existence is
described.
As in the case OF Crime and Pun
.snment." there is no attempt 70 ex-
plot outward circumstance. and the
story is almost purely cerebral, SO
carefully does the author restrict its
movements 70 what is passing in the
minds Of his characters When the
book is closed all one has seen happen
ing is the departure Of Finnbarr Bres-
nan for America. after hesitation as
to whether he had not a vocation for
the priesthood; the tragic ending 20 the
story Of S.evie Calvin and his brother;
the crossing Of the threshold o.
quiet By Lily Bresnan, when she
finally feels free 10 enter Kilvirra Con-
vent. renouncing life and the love Of
Martin Cloyne Even these few dra-
matte moments are not developed, but
just cause a slight stir Of the deep
waters % consciousness in which these
lives are submerged.
Yet only the most hasty reader will
fail 70 succumb 20 the appeal OF the
book, which captures the mind b. It's
simplicity and sincerity. It's absence Of
Fictitious interest. Corkery plungcs
Us at once into the slow current Of
these lonely lives. whose struggle for
peace and happiness is no less intense
and moving because IL takes place on
plane only discernible 10 the intimate
comprehension Of q writer whose eyes
are Axed on the truth nearest 20 his
own heart The high lights OF grand
tragedy and tho crude glare Of melo-
drama do not light up these pages,
stepped in tender and alluring half
tones.
As genre picture OF provincial
society in Ireland The Threshold Of
Quiet" is unique in It's serious realism,
from which the ugliness Of nsturalism
has been eliminated without detriment
to its fidelity. With a skill that
amounts TO genius Daniel Corkery
avoids the falsity and mawkishness OF
the popular idealza..ons, while pre-
serving the purity at which they aim.
A great deal OF careful pruning has
gone to the creation Of the mood in
which il is possible by the merest
hints and suggestions 20 obtain effects
which his contemporaries have labored
and spoiled. The religious note is par
tcuidrly Oeilcdte anu ntoNtiiu4f 0P""0
taneous and reserved, eloquent, but
never didactic.
II is not only a remarkable first
novel. but il is the one modern work Of
realistic Irish fiction which can be
compared with that Of James joyce,
not because Of any identity Of mood
and matter, but because Of the psyche
logical depth and the originality Of
these two writer's. Dissimilar as they
are in every respect. Daniel Cookery
and James Joyce have brought the
Irish novel back into literature.
Inherited Puzzles