Evening star., 1923-12-23
THE WOMAN OF kNoCKALOE. By
Hall Caine, author of THE ManX-
man. etc. New York: Dodd,
Mead & Co.

Ilate war ltSeH. his 10 the S'o'' :
Upon Knockaloe. large farm IN
the west of the Isle of Man, little
to the south of the fishing village
of Peel. there was established, during
the war a great internment camp.
Thousands of enemy aliens were held
at Knockaloe. Before the war TINS
farm was the home of a father ana
his two children, son and daughter
The son went to the war. The daugh-
ter stayed at home breathing hatred
of the Germans you're nara
woman, you're hard" said the father
Then came the day when the son
was killed in battle 1t was the
father then who broke down in
passion of grief and hatred: Mean an
while the Germans of the camp came
and went under the hostile eyes OF
the old man and the girl OF knocka-
loe Then happened what always
does happen, opportunity opened: one
German youth disentangled nlnseiI
from the mass and came to the eye
of the girl. You know the rest. me
girl was prosecuted, not 1or "nae
any one knew, save that sonie ia u
had seen between them frightened
and fieeting love look. But, after the
war the young German would nave
his honorable place with the Eng slish
company back again. He had written
promises to that effect: NO, ,na \ 'qTe Ne
would write to his loving German
mother. who would be glad to nave
her son and his wife with her no:
A bitter letter breathing hatred OF
the English. mo No way aau 70 Csine .ura gives
10 this highly dramatic and powerfu,
story Just the touch that ne neea
not have given, since life itself Woulu
hardly have behaved with these .mo
as the novelist did. Interesting, real
absorbing-but he should not nave
done that last thing, should not nave
caused this pair to have done thal
last thing.
JOE ELLEN. BY Alexander Black'
author of The Great Desire, etc
New York: Harper & Bros
The world is full of Joe Ellens
today outstanding, restless girls
straining to get out into the thick
of things. confident of themselves
unafraid of life, with a really GAL
liant fling to their quite abysmal ls
norance This is the story OF just
one of these Joe Ellens. AND II runs
along-the story does-about as the
true story of any girl living in Joe
Ellens circumstances in the city OF
New York would have to run. Joe
Ellen is crazy to go to work Ihey
all are. She does. go. Not muGh
equipment for a job. except herself
And Joe Ellen gets along pretty well
lust because of herself. Fine. Fine.
so free, so full of life. And boys
fall in love with Joe Ellen-tWo. at
least And she has the keen girl S
men and the boys and her job. And
after while Joe Ellen. right in the
midst of her quest of freedom and
work and more freedom, gets mar
ried. An odd marriage. that. But, IN
this case. marriage does not appear
10 be the end of the matter. Not so
much of a story-is it? You take up
the book, just as an experiment
Within half dozen pages you real
ize that you have. this time. at any
rate. come upon something real
upon a Joe Ellen that is no more to
be shut in by a book than singing
bird could be, or a darting fish, or
tumbling hd soas stream ;boG One ,sea6deS wonders
Black with just the same words at
hand that other writer's have. can
pick them out and set them to-
sether, so that an actual human
nation of words. He can do it: He
does do it. Joe Ellen is alive. Blood
flows in her veins. words tumble out
Of her mouth. activity transforms
wonder how he does it. You look
at the page to find out. You find
out that he himself is not there.
Having made his folks. 1t is up to
them. He refuses to let them be lazy
for him to pack in cotton of long
descriptions. They are there to turn
the trick themselves. They do, and
do it consistently and convincingly.
Joe Ellen is a girl to be proud of.
OUR FEAR COMPLExEs. BY Ed
ward Huntington Williams and
Ernest Bryant Hoag. Indianapolis:
The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Simplicity and common sense stamp
this book. The fears of mankind have
come to be the preoccupation of both of
these writer's, since each is a specialist
in diseases that rest largely upon
human fears. The book talks plainly
about our fears-the secret fears and
the open ones that beset man, resulting
In disease or some other sort Of fu-
tility. 1t analyses these fears and
groups them according to their nature
them and to attack them-all in plain
and practical fashion. 1t explains the
essentials of Freudian doctrine and
surveys the whole field of suggestion as
an agent of healing. 1t contains also.
o very informing and illuminating dis
cussion of glands. Timely and most in
structive. This is a book to put into
the hand of the average person of in
telligence who wants to know about
himself to the end that he may help
himself to health and composure and
poise and efficiency.
THE BLACK PARROT, A Tale of the
Golden ChersOnese. By Harry Her
vey. author of Caravans by
Night etc. New York: The Cen
tury Company.
Pure romance-the spicy scents of
Malaga and Indo-China about it, the
sound of tinkling temple bells spat
tering deep under rhythms. and the
glow cf ruby and sapphire and amber
~ crot tyc ~ o,1r
ground that is all gorgeous eastern
stuff Harry Hervey portrays the mys-
teries Of the BLACK Parrot" an order
of strange disguises and secret eT-
and miraculous disappearances, an
order of curiously innocent looking
passports that have, In fact. tremen-
dous significance of communication
and action. young woman out of
the ives. gives some sort of point
to much of the to-do, but even with
out her it would have been a pro-
digious business of pure invention
Imagination. Who wants realism in
his story world? Who wants love
making and more or less sickly ro-
nance? Who wouldn't throw away
lot Of it for the thing that Harry
Hervey is doing in buoyant lavish
ness of invention drawn of from
places where anything can happen
where there is no limit to ones ac-
ceptances?
OVER THE FOOTLIGHTs. BY Ste.
nhen I,eacock. author of "FrenZiet
Fiction" etc. New York: Dodd
Mead & Co.
In burlesque mood, Stephen Lea
cock goes to the play. OF course
that is the only mood he has to &c
in. And he reviews for us The Sou
Call an 'up-to-date pifhe play, pc
riod 1928" and THE Sub Contractor
an Ibsen play, done out of the origi-
nal Norwegian with an axe" Going
back in reminiscent mood, he re-
oI r