Evening star., 1933-05-02
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
NJ. G..

Stories. BY Sherwood Anderson
New York: Liveright, Inc.
Are the stories of Sherwood Ander-
son good, or are they bad? That is a
question which answers itself so easily
II all the varieties of praise and con-
demnation are classified and employed
to measure the public mind. The
surest means of arriving at definite
conviction as to the true value OF the
writings CT any one whose endeavors
always bring a deluge of disparaging
criticism Is to note also the showers
Of commendation and praise, and IL the
two torrents flow in equal volume the
answer is that they are truly worthy
products. 1t is natural that a large
proportion of readers do not like Mr.
.Anderson's subjects or his style Of pre-
senting them. The reason goes back to
that unfortunate period in American
history when those who sought to mold
the literary tastes of the people were
prompted in their opinions by the con-
victicns inherited from an unsound era
of misunderstood and misapplied piety.
1t was an age in which true stories
we're not INDUCED in. either by writer's
or readers-the former because there
was practically no chance to earn a
circulation, and the second. because the
social order CT the day permitted no
admission of the fact that humans
were normal natural living beings
With the passing OF that limited and
limiting arc Of the cycle and the birth
Of a more general recognition of the
ability Of individuals TO use and to de-
velop their lives in a larger capacity
and with a broader vision, new gen.
Grafton of writer's has c-me into being.
Some of them are running wild in both
theme and language. Many of them
are Haunting vulgarity with only a
feeble attempt to present 1t in the guise
Of decent frankness And it is some
what disgusting to find it accepted in
some quarters as healthy sign that
readers are demanding and getting the
bare truth. Quite bare. indeed, it Is.
But to parade it under the banner OF
truth is a fisgrant challenga to the
inner impulses of the human race
Stories that pcssess the ring of truth
are always interesting and they are
good for the soul of mankind. Often
times some one is heard to remark that
there is enough of truth in life and thai
entertainment which stimulates the
imagination and takes the individual
away from all thought of life as 1t is
lived is the thing. True. without doubt
But only through knowledge OF the lives
OF Others. the sufferings of others, the
raptures OF others, can there be any
understanding of life at all. To read
short tale, perhaps but single episode
in the life of some one who may or
who may not have been a character
oofn OF the imagination, opens the gate
way 10 sanctuary of meditation. and
VINO knows what achievement at some
later time may have had its inception
IN that printed page?
Every one Of the stories in this COL
lection by Sherwood Anderson might
oe-perhaps is-an episode from the lite
OF some one with whom he has come
In contact during his various oceupa :
tions and travels. He Is himself in
tenseiy hum' Al and is therefore at
tracted to the strictly human element
IN the equation of the fortunes and
misfortunes OF life. He has had more
experiences during his span of years
than the average person could accu-
mulate In three lifetimes He has
rubbed elbows with and shared the mis-
fortunes of more kinds of people than
most men ever meet When he writes
such stories as those appearing in this
volume, his subjects are real and the
relation Of their sorrows, their suffer
ings or their joys rings true.
Neither pretty nor frivolous are these
short pictures. But they are vivid
characteristic and compelling Some OF
them are impressions rather than stories
Perhaps this quality is one of the
reasons for the criticism of Sherwood
Anderson. He Is distinctly an impress
5lonlst as well as a narrator of human
emotions, and the lmpressionist, oi
whatever school. is invariably a target
Not many darts are likely to be aimed
at this collection, however. for it con
tains too many episodes which touch
the springs of sympathy and awaken
the impulse to mediate upon the ways
Of fate.
Besides Death in the Woods" the
volume contains The Return" There
She 1s-She Is Taking Her Bath" The
Lost Novel The Fight" Like 4
Queen" That SophLst.cat;on In 4
Strange Town These Mountaineers.
A Sentimental Journey "A Jury
Case Another Wife" "A Meeting
South The Flood" WHY They Col
Married" and Brother Death"
CRIME BOOK. BY Mary Roberts
Rhinehart. New York: Farrar &
Rhinehart, Inc.
Collections of novels as we'll as oi
short stories have come into vogue since
the dark days of the depression have
borne down upon the Nation, and the
result has been a welcome reprintinG
OF many favoriteS, read months OF
years ago. perhaps forgotten, or, maybe
passed on to some one else. to be re-
membered long afterward and wished
for again. The omnibus volumes which
are now growing so popular therefore
offer just such an opportunity as many
readers have been looking for to OBJ.
tain in one lot an assortment of oId
friends within a single cover, where
they will be easily at hand and offer
ing a choice of compsnionship.
Mary Roberts Rine mart has enjoved a
wide popularity as a writer of mystery
novels and mystery plays Her style
has appealed to those who like Their
mysteries in mild form as we'll as to
those who like any mystery so long as
there is one. A good selection has
been made for the compilation of thi,
volume, as it includes no two on the
same order, and only two In which the
same detective figures.
The Red Lamp" in which the
psychic phenomena is the vehicle O:
exposition, was one of the most populs I
murder novels of its circulatory period
1t is published again in its entirety in
! this volume, along with two other com
plete novels, The Window at the
White Cat" and The After House =
Included also are The Buckled Bag
and Locked Doors" in which Nurse
Adams, of Miss Pinkerton" fame. fiR-
ures as the efficient aid to justice.
The After House" will be remem-
bered as the story of the fateful voyage
OF the Ella. a two-msster converted
into pleasure boat. on which Leslie
Marsh, college graduate and GONZALES
cent from typhoid fever, became every
thing on board ship from handymar
to captain, to wind up finally as the
solver of the murders.
The Window at the White Cat
turns to State and municipal politics
for its motive and the graft and scan
dals of of6ceholders for victims.
There IS plenty Of good, breezy reed
.rs, scd variety Of rid o. scrY IT'S
ter-es frcr, wh.c,, to c.socse a stcsy t.