Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-04
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
/. G.. NJ.

The death Of old SOamcs FOrSvte
brings to an end. as matter Of course,
the Forsyte saga Therefore, swan
Song"
Certain odds and ends Of the tribe
are left. 10 be sure. but these are rcla-
lively OF slight account pctor"d out
from lie true Forsyte significance, or
so completely identified with the new
order as to contribute nothing to the
spirit Of the family tradition Suca
purpose rs they do serve Is chiefly IN
support Of The generally accepted fam
uy formula. that three generations
serve to round out its rise and decline.
That these are enough to cary II from
"shirtsleevcs to ShtrtSleeVes again as
the old saying runs.
Clearly. Soamcs is the peak Of the
family fortune the climax Of tA"
Forsvte power Beyond him the For
svte spirit weakcnS or is diverted from
liz old single purpose Ills tragic death
brings To the reader. who more than
once has gone along with this family
a sense of personal regret and loss
Rugged fortnight overriding like all
Of his tribe there is about him stead
faStness that wins And the reader
grows misty about the eyes when OLD
Soames. speeches. but urgent, IS trying
to Law the dead hand of the family
unon the erratic soul Of young Fleur
50 reckless. SO bent upon her own way
At anv cost Swan Song. though
dominantcd largely by SOames, IS con
cerncd primarily with Fleur ana young
Jon, whose early love was set aslae oE
The revelation to them that Fleur s
father was once the husband ot Jon i
mother Each Of these Young ones
goes a separate way, both into mar
riaec. Then Jon comes home from
America with his Young wife Then The
3oninatino F0rsyte comes 10 the front
in FIerr. A mere husband counts lot
nothing A little son for no more
FIeur becomes the maraudeT, Jhe Due
cancer lawIess save to the command
~ her own desires And old Soames
her father. recognizing that 0ioaI urge
10 win. takes a very strong part ln IN.
story Of Fleur and Jon. tle"F .5s,
words to her father were 1eS. o&4.
viii be- good but one wonders. p.
this FleUr is now In the modern ctfFeil}
or freedom for the young IoikSs o. SEN
direction and Dissatisfaction
The times are bad for Fleuf Not Tor
I'm since he the male, Is after all the
real conservative. the true conforms
ION Will tame easily III his captN}1S-
Put the girl raises a doubt However.
old S0ameS died more comfortably }i1ah
no could have done without th3J IeaS-
surinp Yes. Dad. l will be gooG sun
ore wonders II SOames, so SnFeHd. SO
far-seeing, was really convinced bE-
inc must be an engroSSing business -
veTv ,ikelv he could not a. the morleil,
NM +he best Of his mind to the future
Of Fleur. ..,,.. ,,,a-
Beading swan Song naturally leads
ono hack To the earlier years 81 III"
porsvtes since 1t contains references 80
sI3oht as tn assume an acquaintance o!.
tha mart az the reader. SoameS hlhlSel!
constitutes q special urge 10 80 oaSH
again to the beginning Of the man Nh9,
makes such claim 70 the interest a'l9
sympathy Of the reader. MaSteFl4t anu
successful In SO many ways, 5oall3ts
failed miserabiy in drawing Guy VIZ
love Of his wife. The pity O y !" e.
that he couldn't see hinSeH ~ 0ll1ot
able Nobody can. On the cohstais -.
rrhat Is mart OF the pity OF SoameS
Forsvte. That the girl was more ~ :
lovely shadow than anything else mace
m difference in his affection for Aet.
save to increase 1t. That she qua hlai-
To love his cousin became the bitterness
n his life Vet under u all. Soaalea
rorsyte stood up invincible. ~ ms lam
Nv nride Soames and old Joiy9il are
thr outstanding figures OF the FoI@}eE
tribe Around them stand the lesser
ones with each Of these as 0l>thet III
4 personality Of his own as i he were
of the first order.
Six substantial volumes have gone
into the Forsyte Saga. More IMAM ~
Years OF painstqking have produced
these More than 40 years 81 family
life stand here openly revealed. by way
If this surprising story one comes 70
somewhat intimate acquaintance WIN q
family. no branch Of which mao us
!ng for the other, between no tlSet
members Of whom existed anything
worthy Of the name Of Sympat1y-eFl~
dence or that mysterious concrete tenac-
nv which renders a family So formi~
dablp a unit Of society. so clear re-
production Of society I'm miniature. Here
is a vision Of other dim roads oE social
progress, something Of patriarchai lie,
of the swarmings Of savage horQeS, oI
the rise and fall Of nations Here
are two prime signitiCanceS OF the saga
that reach out from the Forsyte tam
liz into a greatly widened application
one Of these is familiar, t1a5 81 tle
autapouismS that exist In the majority
~ families the, secret animuslgleS care
ftuIy concealed through respect for me
tradition of natural affection ana
family love Probably never anywhere
again will this common lrQtA be 50
simply and couyiucingly set foflh as ln
the record Of the F0rSFte> me olatf
great meaning carried by the saga =
that this story 0t q single family ~.
~ we'll and OF society and OF nalohN
IN the rise and short tenure and IAN
IN these The controlling drive ana
,troe of this family is the poSSeSS}Fe IN
stInct the graSping reach OF pure ac-
nttiSitfyenesz. So too is this the prl~
mai instinct Of individual tribe, family,
@oriaty nation the world itself with
-, arnreciable exceptions Regulated To
eI{t the case I'm hand, this instinct eN~
,,ands IN a plain logic tn embrace !af2-
~ 1nite thereby bringing an ADDED
understanding of many Of the common
world movements. So Tar. al ieast.
material benefits outrank the JOYS OF
hearty In art and nature ana nlooSs
IN life lust as these do with }ne foT-
Sytes AS surely as q dog VIII hafS
III a brass band SO VIII fAe tN>e"l'a'
esoamps in human nature rise UP UNI
an
',,,'ers r6llnd the folds of ownership,
n individual possessions.
II is this universal sense Of property
mai dominates the ForSyte Saga from
becinning to end Circumstance and
setting change. slightly with the pass
inc al the years but the heart Of the
matter is that same ingraned passion
far the standing and Responsibility of
money. Here the Victorian spirit meliS
into that OF the new present. proving
he two to be but one, with only GER
tatu rxteruala To mark the passing @.
time
pnrsvte record rests In the power 81
individual revelation that II brings one
Knows himself better Tor the reading Of
II since to no one else do We lie 50
whole heartcdly rs To ourselves. Here
Mr. Cialsworthy rather shuts Oft such