Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-01

n LONG way of our desert islands must
N be. Set, lonely, in wide polar or
~ tropic seas, or lying at anchor in
the even more boundless ocean of
human Imagination. Bare of familiar
happenings also must they be, free from prac-
tice, habit convention. custom stagnation.
Wide open, besides, in every sort of novel ap-
pearance, in every promise OF strange adventure.
Remoteness and strangeness-these the two
elements that go into the making Of those
Isolate spots which since Robinson Crusoe, have
proved to be the retreat and refuge OF every
sort Of fugitive from the bondage OF his I'M
mediate existence. The world Is ringed round
with these. They provide stepping stones for
the most authentic Of history. Better yet, tney
work between adventurer and poet the fine
chemistry or romance, producing fiction that is
more deeply true than fact itself. The desert
has, therefore, become a general idea, state
of mind, rather than a lone bit Of land
anchored at sea- Each the solitary nest of some
huge seabird Matching out wondrous progeny
of wing and beak and claw, CT rainbow flight,
of heroic and marauding deeds.
In this book so mellow and satisfying Walter
de la Mare keeps company with those who
have transformed these isolate land patches into
poetry and song and narrative. A lettering
along the way from Robinson CruSoe down
toward the present. An easy companionship
set up between him and the tribe of famous
island adventures to discover, by virtue of his
brotherhood with them, just the source of such
De Foe is, throughout, the point of departure.
To understand the source of his clear genius
Is in measure, to appraise all Not once does
this journey take on the effect of critical work.
Yet that is exactly what it is in the best of its
attitudes and disclosures. Stories, too many
to count, are the Illuminating medium of these
encounters with the Treasure Islanders" from
Daniel De Foe to the brood of South Sea
romancers.
In sense this easygoing adventure is
cleaning of desert island romances as these
have contributed to literature; as these also
demonstrate family philosophy of their own,
one based loosely upon history and developed
under the Sustenance of romantic invention.
In a sense, TOO, this is q tribal record in
literature By way of its orderly and under
standing disclosure Mr.. de la Mare has pro-
duced special chapter Of English literature, a
very live and engaging body of fact upon the
subject. Hardly q book, hardly q study in
effect though it Is certainly both at their best.
Rather group or a procession of people talk
ing together in a spontaneous mood of self
examination and self-revelation. beautiful
and deeply satisfying experience waits here upon
all who decide to go along with this man on
his rather novel quest.
QUIET STREET BY Michael Ossofgin. Trans
lated from the Russian by Nadia Helstein.
New York: The Dial Press.
A NOVEL Of the Russian revolution There
fore. war story. Yet unlike other war
accounts, since at no time do slaughter and
bombardment and terror and confusion take up
the whole story with the horrors Of actual
combat. Rather Is this novel pitched TO the
key that behind the lines there is q populace
that must still go on living, that must day by
day meet the common demands that stand i'm
Fortunate at the side of every one. whether
peace or war be the immediate engagement.
Food and its preparation, care of the bodies Of
children, keeping houses in some order, pur-
suing the days work in so far as this pertains
to the necessities of life and cannot be laid
aside for the great occupation of killing.
quiet Street is recognition and projection
Of the common life surrounded by war affected
poignantly by it, distorted through its dangers
and unusual urgencies, but the common life,
nevertheless, this exists in every zone of war
fare. The old man, scientific bird man;
music master and girl-these three by virtue
of their fortitude and quiet heroism are the
ones chosen by Michael Ossorgin to picture the
high spirit and competent behavior that here
and there, are found everywhere in times Of
catastrophe and terror. Life has to be lived,
you see-liYed competently and usefully-even
during war. And this is the story, out of which
emerges vivid picture Of one small segment of
life in q big city projected against back
ground Of civil strife, Of revolution. Not a
shred of the sensational marks this story.
Rather does 1t reveal character, poise and per-
Sonality, under circumstances directly calcu-
lated to shatter the individual against the wall
Of immediate conflict long story. And
sometimes we say that the long story is out Of
step with the high acceleration Of the present.
But, 1t depends, after ALL Here is a case IN
point. The Russians, their character, their pur-
poses, their experiments are just now upper
most properly uppermost, the world over. Here,
by way Of . war novel, Is a 'dispassionate study
Of Russia under stress and a highly intelligent
appraisal Of certain qualities in this people. No
bitterness, though this writer was banished
from his country by the Soviet. Rather, a
deeply interested Unlocking upon his country at
its most critical hour and wholly sympathetic
out-reach upon the people themselves upon his
people. One nnarvels at the restraint Of this
story and loves 1t for its tender beauty and