Evening star., 1933-03-14
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
NJ. G..

NJ. G.. /
AWFUL RAINBOW. BY Angela Nor.
gan. New York: Harper & Bros
Having already become recognized
internationally as a poet Of noteworthy
ability, Angela Morgan has now pro-
duced a novel which is destined tc
add to her fame and perhaps to hel
favor, for Awful Rainbow" Is un.
doubtedly a reverSion to the ore-ttmt
popular novel with purpose. The
entire theme of this narrative Is love
and its purpose Is the preachment OF
doctrine which Is as old as the worlc
itself, but which modern concepts OF
civilization and some religions have
never permitted to be openly recognized
What might be called the text OF
Awful Rainbow" is that all personal
possessive love is wrong. The burden
of the sermon is that love is not a
material, but cosmic force, a spiritual
| experience reaching beyond all earthly
and earthly things, and that man.
shackeled and matrimony too often
1t Is a courageous thing to under
take the setting forth Of SO stupendous
a subject in novel, for it directly op-
poses condemnation Of the public
| avowal of an all-powerful love, no mat
ter upon whom it may be bestowed
There will be some readers who will
find food for controversy, but for thos:
who are blessed with deep under
| standing of the spiritual and intel
lectual as well as the human element
of living beings, Awful Rainbow" Of
fers an intensely vivid portrayal Of the
souls of two people, woman and q
| man whose love must be sacrificed or
the altar of custom.
Had the author chosen a woman oi
| little more knowledge Of the every.
day world as the mouthpiece OF thu
| doctrine her story would be more con-
vincing and perhaps her argument les!
misunderstood. Janet SturgiS is 9
strong and compelling character, but
not quite suited for SO big role. Sht
is wealthy and has been protected anc
sheltered against the ups and down!
of life to the point where upon finding
| herself alone in room with clothe.
to hang up and boxes to put away sht
is as helpless as a savage who haC
never seen clothes might be expected Il
be- Having had no contact with in.
dividuals outside of her own set ex.
cept the servants of the household, ane
never having experienced ride on &
bus or any other public vehicle in hel
life. she is hardly acceptable as pro-
| found thinker for the welfare of thu
human race.
The heroine need not have beer
woman nearly thirty years old whit
had spent more than half Of her lift
at toll, but with woman of the
same number of years who had som!
| semblance of knowledge CT humanity
a more believable story would have
been the result.
Janet is twenty-eight years old anc
unmarried, condition both inexcuSablt
and incomprehensible to the aunt who i.
her guardian. She rebels violently agains
all attempts to shackle her to life
which she hates. but from which she j.
powerless to escape. Her ambition is tt
write, and through her pen to enlighter
the world and bring it to a conscious.
ness of the beauty of love. A little
| volume of hers which was published
and received some circulation brought
| note of appreciation from a mar
who had reached heights of promi.
nence through his own writings anc
his social work They meet. and they
fall deeply and wholly in love. But
he is married.
1t is in the face Of this catastrophe
and the long months of agony which
follow that Janet becomes philos ophel
and endeavors to interpret love in it:
highest and noblest sense. On the Other
hand, she does nothing and accom-
plishes nothing until tragedy awaken:
her to sense of responsibility. She
might have saved soul had she known
that humans less fortunate than herself
possessed such things.
Even breaking away from home anC
living alone in New York apartment
fails to produce any reaction withir
herself except sense Of freedom unit
she learns that the long procession Of
dreadful looking creatures visible from
not know what a bread line was unit
it was explained that those creature!
were hungry and standing in line wait.
ing for food. Even that sight affected
her only slightly until she spent few
days with a cousin who had been ban
ished from the family because he hae
gone into social work A few hard anc
fast lessons in a settlement house finally
take effect, and then Janet becomes ar
almost believable individual. but the
conversion is so violent and SO rapie
that she still fails to measure up as
truly convincing heroine.
1t may be difficult to accept whole
hea-tedly novel of such powerful i'm
port and of so magnetic qualit!
through the medium of Janet Sturgis
but, ell in all. the story itself rises so fal
above its interpreter that 1t is almos
possible to forget her shortcomings an:
to believe she has grown big enough t
be entirely worthy Of the immeasurabl'
love of Barton Page.
Maybe the world will some day &C
cept the doctrine which Angela Morgan
has pronounced in this novel. Mayb'
that Is the trend which civilization i
| can foreteI.
YOUNG MR.. X. BY Elizabeth Jordan
New York: The Century Co.
A novel by Elizabeth Jordan is Away
acceptable. for there is always the &C
companying certainty that it will be {
good story, well told, and usually of :
different character from others she OF
any one else may already have written
Young Mr.. X is no exception to thest
specifications.
The story derives its title from ths
mysterious behavior of young Perr!
Norris, whose DR.. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde
performances from the days of his nf.
in college have caused his friends t;
, mistrust him, to discount him, or t.
ignore him altogether. This combina
ton of conditions, together with mum
Der of queer happenings, gives a senst
of the mysterious to the whole novel
and yet there is no serious crime com
mitted. though two individuals come tt
an untimely end because, of the unusua
circumstances attending the existence
of this attractive Mr.. x.
If Penelope Lowell, pretty, rich ane
altogether charming, had not fallen IL
love with Perry, maybe all the queel
things would not have happened. Blu
she did fall in love with him, and h:
with her, and the completes and dis.
appointments. doubts and fears, mo-
ments Of bliss and hours Of uncertaint!