Evening star., 1924-08-17
Reviews of New Books

life but thing of genuine beauty as
well. .>
WHITE LIGHT NIGHTS. BY o. O.
Mcintyre. New> York: Cosmopol-
itan Book Corporation.
Writers of the o. o. Mcintyre stamp
are to places what scientists are to
the natural world. without them we
should wander through an inextri-
cable tumble Of multitudinous and
bewildering facts. They group things
that belong together. setting out
their Identifying features. interpret
ing their uses and their meanings.
They gather the trees into forests Of
special feature and habit and mean
ing. for instance. This is what o.
o. Mcintyre does for the big chaos
named New York. Out of it's monot-
onous bewilderment of buildings and
streets he picks up, say. Union
Square, the Bowery, Greenwich VIII
1age, Fifth avenue, what not. To
each he gives not only its face and
feature but, better even. he gives to
it that which it has built into its
spirit through the uses and adven-
lures Of its existence. These points
and localities take on personality and
about them that Is at all worth while.
More than this, through the divina-
tion and adaptability of this artist
each of these expresses itself in its
own particular vernacular. BY way
of him you come into a clear ac-
quaintance with that stately person.
age, The Avenue" or that quaint old
character. The Bowery," or that
wild-eyed damsel. "Greenwich Viii
lage." individuals also cross your
path here-Paul Whiteman, the jazz
king. probably the one that most
clearly embodies the spirit of a con-
spicuous part of the great city it.
self. The best story of all, however,
is not about New York at all. In
stead 1t is about the writer's dog,
who appears to have taught him
more about really worth while human
behaviors than the whole town put
together. If 1 were in his place. I'd
pick that story out and dress 1t in
the garb that it merits and send it
here and there, not only in honor of
the clearly deserving dog but for the
sake Of letting thousands of human
beings in upon the proper behavior
of humans.
THE PINES OF LORY. BY ]. A, Nit
chell, author of amos Judd" etc.
Decorations by Albert D. Blash-
field. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-
Merrill Co.
You may have read this story 20
years ago or more In that case you
will be able to bear witness to the
fact that time has not stalled 1t, that
it has not in the very least grown
old-fashioned or otherwise dimmed.
Its adventure is as fresh as this
morning. Its favors are exactly
those of these sky-larking days by
land and sea, where it is as easy as
nothing to get marooned or lost or
strayed. as these three did. The third
one was the dog. The other two were
the man and the girl-ripe for ro-
nance as well as for adventure. All
set, under the pines of LOry. on an
island bitten off the coast Of France.
the gay adventure grows as the bright
not eagerly desired day OF deliver
ance. A sparkling story, whose
points of clear suspense hinge upon
the growth of romance that is young
and hopeful and clean. No social
problem smudges the development.
That is one advantage Of its having
been written before literature had
lost its mind on the subject Of prob
lens OF unsavory and uninteresting
character. The other advantage is
that Of its fresh and immediate
charm and appeal.
WHO KILLED COCK ROBINs By
Harrington Hext, author of "The
Thing at Their Heels" etc. New
York: The Macmillan Company.
AS a matter of fact, the answer is
closure? 1t would be were there not
enough Of mystery and suspense left
for half a dozen tales without this
single seemingly crucial point. The
mystery story nowadays follows a
set pattern. We know the formula
1t opens with the crime, some one
done to death at the hands of a per-
son or persons unknown. The action
thereafter follows the familiar pur-
suit Of many clues, out Of which,
finally, the true one emerges under
the masterful activity of an extrava-
gantly nonchalant and casual super
detective. This one follows a differ
ent plan. Here certain conditions are
clearly defined, motives are devel-
oped, these are openly transformed
into action. The reader himself goes
along as suspicion arises and shapes
thereafter the course of a singuIarly
unobtrusive sleuth-a dull little man,
he appears to be. Jenny Wren" and
Cock Robin" so called from baby
hood by their fond father, are the
twin daughters of an archdeacon.
These are the chief figures in this
romance And the reader follows
them through a pleasant story Of
girlhood and courtship and marriage.
Just over this line one of them, ut
terly self-seeking, as it turns out,
becomes gradually embittered at her
husbands inability to make her a
rich mans wife. Disappointment
brings Indifference, and then dislike,
and then hatred, which works itself
out in peculiarly ingenious and
vindictive line Of retaliation and re-
venge. A plausible invention? or
hand, no. But in the face Of every
days print one hesistates to assign
implausibility to even the most sur
prising, even the most heinous of
human behaviors. Rather let us here
speak of a well constructed story
that takes up curious line of cir
cumstances and carries it forward
consistently on the basis Of human
selfishness and the vanity of a woman.
TAKES RhNnIT'S GIN