Evening star., 1935-12-29

after page, until almost any reader
could be excused for going quietly
crazy from the cumulative effect.
This was Land Under England" by
one O'Neill, published by Simon 81
Shuster. 1t can be interpreted as q
satire on fascism, If you care to ra-
tioualize your horrors. 1t is not by
that that you will remember 1t. how
ever.
A highly pleasant novel of Mexico
in revolutionary years, "The Wedge, {"
by Deutsch and published by Stokes,
should be mentioned for the breadth
Of the realism which it sets forth,
although as a book 1t suffers from an
illogically melodramatic ending.
"The Fortunes of the Pasquiers, by
Georges Duhamel, published by Har-
per, is another work of high standards
of excellence, although its quiet ana
lytical quality probably viii prevent
1t from becoming q general favorite.
1t is the story Of French middle
class family struggling to improve its
position a the world. The transla-
ton Is by Samuel Putnam
Another work of fiction of minor
character but still meriting praise for
its stylistic excellence is THE First
Bus Out" by Eugene Lohrke, published
by D. Appleton-Ce Co. 1t is one
Of those ventures into the super
natural, carried out by the scheme Of
having bus full OF people, strangers
to each other, converse until, by skill
fully measured degrees it dawns on
them that they are all dead. The
bus, they then see, has no driver. 1t
is not an extraordinary concept, but
| the author has preserved a drugged
somnolence of style that brings his
plot more deeply into the readers
mind than anything which he actually
| writes.
A ND since no group of novels is COM
plete without one about the late
lamented jazz age, Robert Reynolds
Fortune" is listed here. This is a
book of mingled good qualities and
flaws. The best Of the first is Mr..
Reynolds ability to keep his story
moving along and to write descriptive
passages that are pictures and not just
assemblings of pretty lines. The worst
of the flaws is his tendency to make
strident and unreal men and women.
However, there is enough vitality and
beauty in his book to raise it above the
general levels.
Two other works of fiction remain
on the list, both in the field of allie
CORY. One is Robert Eddison'S monu-
mental and beautiful Mistress of Mis-
treSses." published by Dutton, and the
other is Claire Myer Spottswood's "Un-
practicable Adventure" !" published by
Doubleday Doran. The first Of these
caused the more literate and abstruse
of our critics to cry out with Joy that
here was at last a work of pure ro-
nance, and it was published with a
statement of praise by James Branch
Cabell on its jacket. Mr.. Cabell also
figured in "The Unpredictable Adven-
ture," but only as a character. It is
satire on the various intellectual
strivers of our period. as well as the
uproarious allegory of young wom-
ans search for knowledge. The books
have, Of course, nothing in common
save that both can be commended.
Among non-f1ction, books of travel
and place seem to have more to offer
readers than most other divisions.
Towering above all these, of course, is
T. z. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of
Wisdom" published by Doubleday Do
ran g. Co. Viewed in retrospect, this
work now seems to have, a curiously
made quality. Was it rewritten too
many times? It was great book, but
one knows unerringly as one reads it
that it fell short of its authors de-
sire, and not only that, but short Of
his actual memory. He could not say
| what he had done. Still it is great
thing.
TWO other books about places are
Don Fernando" by Somerset
Vaughan, published by Doubleday
Doran g. Co., and Burners of Men, "
winner of the French Gringoire prize
in 1884 and published in translation
by J. B. Eppincott. Vaughan writes
of his memories of Spain, giving a
slight episode of his youthful visit
there as an excuse for composing sew
eral fine eSays on manifestations OF
Spanish life in the Golden Age-the
theater, the arts, the church, and so
on. He writes as he always does.
which is dangerously near perfectly.
The Burners of Men" is an Ethiopian
journey recorded, fortunately for the
present turn of events, but actually
coming out of experiences that took
place before the present trouble was
broached. The author was on an eth
nological mission for his government,
but his book is no scientific tract. 1t
is one of the finest, most vivid pieces
of travel writing of the year-if not
the finest. 1t should be said, however,
to the sensitive reader that 1t deals
very literally In barbariSms.
Another pleasant book Of place Is
| Julian Meade's "I Live in Virginia,
remarkable because among many books
on the South it preserves exceptionally
well q balance and sense Of humor.
This is published by Longmans Green
& Co. "Brownstone Fronts and Sara
toga Trunks" is still another work on
the American scene which deserves
mention. 1t deals with New York In
its little old" period and has dry'
tolerant style that makes it memora-
BILE. Still another good book ABOUT
America from the point Of view OF
local color is Lucius Beebe's Boston
and the Boston Legend"
Finding it impossible to pass over
the Great Muscovite Experiment with
out due notice, one is happy TO be
able, in all sincerity, to name two
works devoted to it which deserve real
commendation. One Is, OF course
walter Duranty's intelligent. lucid
81 Write as I Please" the first book
so far to come out Of that bewildered
country which tells the reader what
did happen without going native. The
other is a small modest volume by one
p. L. Travers, q young Irish woman