Evening star., 1927-05-22
REVIEWS OF SPRING BOOKS
Trees Good CtzenThe Newest Nove-Hero Tales From
Ancient Persia in Volume Called The Epic
of Kings"-A Mystery Yarn.

than the old state of dependence on
the part UT the wife could be. Here
is relatively free play of individuality
within the bond, and therefore vastly
more interesting theme for novelist or
dramatist than marriage has before
been able to project. This novel runs
along the usual line up TO certain
point. English In derivation, it sets the
commonplace situation of the wife at
home and the husband in the Far
East. Naturally, the husband relieves
his loneliness, as husbands do and will
The wife, under the spur of rumor.
goes to him. It's all true. And the
romance makes it's way by virtue Of
the behaviors of these people immedi-
ately concerned. Time was when the
woman would have endured. This
wife. however, convinced-not OF her
husbands guilt, for that is not the
main point with her--but that he loves
the other woman, betakes herseiI
away and sets up life of her own.
Goes to work, earns success and
measure of tranquility. But-that
particular old bond is a very devil OF
tenacity, after all. Well, reading
here, you will come upon hesh ana
blood men and women, projected nat
the spirit of modern life. You will
also find a novel of excellent structure,
progressive and dramatic invention
that holds interest throughout, without
any Of the distractions of slovenly ana
careless work.
AMERICAN CRITICISM: 1926. Edited
by William A. Drake. New forK:
Harcourt, Brace and Company.
THIS volume is made up OF critical
essays by Americans taken from
the periodicals and newspapers OF the
year ending June, 1925. Here you VIII
meet as critics and reviewers Waldo
Frank, Zona Gale, Sinclair Lewis
Edgar Lee Masters, Fl. l.. Mencken,
Agnes Repplier and many others. AS
themes YOU will find critical opinions
of Anatole France, Santayana the
poet, Emily Dickinson, Cavour, among
much else besides.
The plan is similar to the familiar
one Of bringing out best short stories
in yearly volumes. But it is even
more useful in effect than are these
others. We, average readers. need
some measure of our reading that Is
simple and sensible in its approach
to current literature. The criticism
of the college course is cryptic, arbi'
trary, bigoted in its ancient rever-
ences, dogmatic against free play OF
opinion. Here, however, are writer's
who in the midst of cotemporaneous
life are, for the purposes of their
art, looking that life straight in the
face without any of the old isms hold
ing them back. They are straight
forward and helpful in their analyses
and judgments. and they are such
without any solemn mandarinic aps
proaches to the matter. A fine prof.
ect, this enc, eminently useful in plan,
and according to the testimony Of
this first volume. as deeply interest.
ing and suggestive as it is practically
helpful. .t--
HIMS ANCIENT AND MODERN.
BY Jimmy Glover. New York:
George III. Doran Company.
pACKED with recollections of old
= days, Kaleidoscope in change and
color, Jimmy Glover sits down agair
with pen in hand to the pleasant in
timacy of writing letters to his
nephew. This is an act of pure self
indulgence on the part of Uncle JIM
my, though it is projected somewhat
as advice from an older generation to
one of the youngsters. Writing vol
umes of letters is a habit with Jimmy.
He's done it before, twice. This re-
minder is not in the nature of criti-
cism. however, for these letters are
such as call for more--genial, under
standing. mellow and touched off with
gayety and humor. A happy philoSo.
pher, who finds more of entertainment
than disgruntlement in this hit-or.
miss performance through which men
and women shuttle onto the stage and
then shuttle off again. each move with.
out rhyme or reason in it. so far as
one can see. OF course, we couldn't
see, since we are among the shutters.
However, these are Tommy's letters.
not ours. But we go along as the
boy goes to London, where he is
shown the sights and given no end of
good advice about taking care of him.
self. In this supervision of Tommy
there is much about the hotels and
clubs of London, then into the music
halls, even into the halls of Parlia.
ment, with a deal of reminiscence
about older days in all of these quar-.
ters of the most interesting of cities.
And Jimmy has something to say
about boredom-a fruitful topic-and
about women, not these two, however,
in the same connection. Oh, he ram.
bles along very pleasingly about many
things. bringing up at last at the
final jumping-off place for the human
tribe-marriage There will be an.
other volume Of letters to Tommy.
There should be, because both Tommy
and the rest Of us want them.
X X X 4
THE EPIC OF KINGS. BY Helen
Zimmern. Illustrated by Wilfred
Jones. New York: The Macmillan
Co.
HERE are hero tales from ancient
Persia retold to suit our own
fashion in words. Firdusi's Shah
Nameh" is the treasure chest from
which these stories Gf great men and
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