Evening star., 1932-08-22

nUQcIu III ICCuLk, bCIOiut ~ AhAON "A'~A
the very latest technique Of Action
| telling, beside which the treasure
search of Mr.. Priestley and his hero.
william Dursley, seems rather artificial
| and clumsy?
No wonder critics during recent
years, he gathered. had exclaimed:
Almost all the qualities which the Eu-
ropean novel has been slowly gathering
are here already"
1t was true, thought Templeton
Jones. He had not read the previous
volumes, had scarce heard Of them, ex-
cept vaguely, as one will who is always
made no attempt to do that impossible
thing keep up" with the new ones.
This fifth volume stood on Its own
feet, and asked nothing from the other
four. 1t was a beautiful whole, COM
plete in ITSELF although 1t left interest
ing glimpses forward into the sixth and
last book to come.
Japanese ladies and gentlemen q
thousand years ago must have been
amazingly like American women and
men of today. Jones unused. What they
did, and what they thought, even the
way they said 1t, had q most familiar
| ring.
And that keen intuition which is the
fiction, that one blessed attitude which
holds the interest of the reader, is
found on every page Of this exquisitely
told story.
This is a work Of art, Jones thought;
Mr.. Priestley's book is hammered out;
as work of hammering, 1t is very
good. Until Jones read PARKWAY" he
wondered what some slightly sarcastic
critic had meant when he had said that
"Mr. Priestley writes the best bread
pudding novels, and those who like
them will enjoy this one"
Templeton Jones knew now what the
critic meant. The critic had been an
honest man; he found "Faraway' good.
but not as good as the writer Of Angel
Pavement" should have made 1t.
In Jones case, PARKWAY had an un-
fortunate contrast with THE Lady OF
the Boat" There is nothing hammered
out about the latter; it Is done with a
clever brush, with water colors on the
| finest of rice paper, the chapters are
held together with bits of jewels, and
feathers of bright birds, by some ex-
IRENE word magic the very sound of
waterfalls and scent Of cherry blossoms
comes to the reader.
| Jones advised no one to read these
| two one after the other, and especially
| not to read them as he had done, ex-
actly 145 pages of PARKWAY" then
.The Lady Of the Boat" twice, then
the remaining pages of PARKWAY"
No, 1t was not entirely fair to Mr..
Priestley, but Jones rather suspected
that it gave him a clearer notion OF
the difference between the two. and
Just why he would remember the jap
anese story forever and forget the
English tale tomorrow.
Mr.. Priestley pursued his old theme
of disillusion, this time halfway around
the world. Lady Murasaki knows better.
Not in fight, she realizes, lies release
fer the human spirit, but In that brave
acceptance OF life and manners which
makes much OF the trif1es thereof.
Her men and women, despite their
strange Ito us) names, are men ano
women, too, and every reader can point
to their counterparts in his own ac-
ouaintance, or miracle OF miracles, in
himself! They come just that close to
home. despite a thousand years.
Templeton Jones rather relished Mr..
Priestley's few gentlemanly jibes at
America and things American, and
could not help but note that what he
said was entirely true, but that he took
good care not to say very much.
This attitude, he reasoned, was not
dictated by any desire on the part OF
the young English author to stand in
well'' with his host of American read
ers, but solely due to his evident dis
position to run away from life. He
brings his characters, in this book. as
in his Others to point where tragedy
may loom, but 1t never does because Mr..
Priestley is too intellectual to believe
in tragedy. He is afraid of 1t. Hence
he goes back on his own creed when he
kills his commodore at the end of his
book. 1t is a flaw. but not enough to
bother about. It is most wholesome
| thought to himself; he always liked
bread pudding immensely. and had
swallowed an inordinate amount of 1t In
his life.