Evening star., 1933-07-23
REY|EW[ QE IHE NEW BOOK
4 I

When he loses his position and also. through
stock manipulation, the small patrimony his
mother has left him. he becomes entirely de-
pendent on Clairs earnings. He is too much
of a man to sink easily into life Of idleness
at his wife'S expense and there has never been
between the two the ccmpsnionship and the
habit of sharing everything which would make
it q matter Of small importance who supplied
the money II both were making every legi-
innate effort so Adam wept because he
might not work." And it is sufficient TO make
Adam weep or Eve either, for without some
work and interest in it there is so much time
for unvhoaesome things-for brooding for arti-
fetal exciten1ents for Guarrelng. This Is the
theme Of A. r. Craig's rovel- with the more
economic theme that a gradual readjustment OF
ideas Is needed in the modern marriage, vnen
both husband and wife are potential earners
and are subject to the vicissitudes Of en-
ployment and unemployment. There Is no
didacticiEn in the telling Of the story. IL y
absorbing in its swift and convincing develop
ment Of the relations between two dfsuauent
human beings. two such human beings as my
be found almost anywhere in real hfe today.
HOSTAGES TO FORTUNE. By Hisabeth
Cambrtdge New York: G. p. Putnams Sons.
THE English Book Society has selected this
! nrst novel for its June offering. It seems
worthy Of the choice. Baccn's eptgHam. He
that hath wife and children hath given hostages
to fortune" seems amply justified by the e.
periences Of William and Catherine during
many Of the early years Of their marriage In
the nrk place. when william came back frum
the war where he had been with the medical
sta1 of . base hospital Catherine felt that
the var had given her back quite . different
person from the one she had married" He
was more sharp and irritable wanted more Of
life but expected less. He loved Catherine.
but he was dsmned if he could love Audrey
(his infant daughter" When william bought
a practice and a house with it. and another
child came. care multiplied for Catherine and
she found that she had little time and less pa
tience. Time for the writing of stores (Which
she occasionally Sold vanished from her time
budget. She could manage to be the wife and
companion of william or the mother of Audrey
and Adam and Bill, but it was extremely difh-
cult to be both at once, and yet she was
Obliged to try william worked hard and long
hours as country Doctor and at night and
morning meals was not enthusiastically inter-
eSted in his offspring. Life was a gray land
scape, with some stIeaks of soft brilliant
color-the beauty of the countryside in the
different seasons, fecting moments Of happiness
with the children twhel there was time, rare
times Of understanding AMI content between
Catherine and william. What made it all
worth the constant effort the everyday drudg-
cry, was the deep realization of their love for
each other, of the permanence Of their rela-
ton And after the children had left to choose
their own paths they knew that they loved
each other the more for the efforts they had
made. Catherine had learned too not to expect
gratitude from her children nor to strive to
obtain happiness for them According them
complete freedom, her own ambitions long since
abandoned, adapted to her henceforth quiet
life with her William, she was content This
is q thoroughly domestic novel about people like
hundreds who are living a family life today
Its subject matter is the work of every day and
the growth of children. Dull? No, because it
Is written with cen incing realism. Senti-
mental? Not very, and after all life is full of
sentimentahties