Evening star., 1935-07-07


me into the world Of public service
committees, and in addition to the
B. B. c. Board, am now serving on
the Hospital and Medical Services
Committee of the London County
Council; on the Council of the Royal
Institute of International Affairs; and
on the Committee Of University Col
lege. I am wrestling now with q play,
and If an election comes up expect
to be a candidate In my spare
time am absorbed in philosophy
incidentally, have recently returned
from a thrilling motor trip through
Greece"
All this is terribly nice of course.
And when (getting around to Mrs.
Hamilton's novel; one reads on the
jacket the following words, Mrs.
Hamilton sweeps into a room like
breeze. A hearty laugh has
prominent place in her bag of tricks.
3" A touch of red-whether 1t be in
her hat, on her scarf. or merely
cluster of artificial fiowers-adds a
dash of warmth and friendlineSS to
her personality" ones appreciation OF
| the niceneSS of it all reaches what
may be referred to as the acute stage.
One is prepared to believe that Mrs.
Hamilton is an energetic and distin-
guiShed woman. 1t Is sad TO have to
record that. on the evidence Of the
| present book, she is q more energetic
than distinguished writer.
1t Is a long, wordy effort, conven-
tional in concept and unskilled In ex-
ecution. If it were not that Mrs. Ham,
iltons personal distinction is urged as
contributing to her reputation as
novelist, Sentenced to Live" would
not be considered worthy of more than
passing mention.
That fact, however. may well lend
| itself to discussion. 1t raises an in
teresting. even an important. uues-
| ton in literary trends. The question
is, Is there any reason why writing
should not be done by writers? Is
there any valid cause for the passing
of the novel from the hands Of novel;
lists to those of Olympic athletes, ex-
convicts. politicians. tramps. floor
walkers and society women? Is there?
The question is put in all seriousness.
The condition has long been obvious
| to every one who reads. It has been
still more obvious to the unfortunate
group which writes.
| The answer seems to be both plain
and unsatisfactory. 1t lies apparently
in the fact that practically every one
has been taught to use a pencil. Every
| one of course has not been taught to
use paint brush. chisel or q violin.
But every one can write. What more
natural than that the busy lady who
has conquered the House of Commons
and the B. B. c., on deciding to make
the arts her next rapid conquest,
/ should chose the novel as her vehicle?
For can she not write? OF course she
can. She can probably even type. And
she can spell. All she needs to do is
to turn out enough Of it. and lo-she
is an artist. 1t is a fait accompn.
And how very pleasant this is; like
that touch OF red" it adds dash to
her personality. II we are compelled
ever to do away with any Of the three
RS let it not be riting. For that, like
our Constitution. seems aimed to give
the greatest happiness to the greatest
number.
Sentenced to Live" is a vast. turgid
tale of pair of postwar lovers who
quarrel separate and then make up.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with
the plot. It is perhaps the best plot
I that has ever been devised. All that it
needs is living characters. conviction
and significance With these simple
ingredients added, 1t is quite possible
that this would be an entirely accept
able book.
THE FIRST BUS OUT. BY Eugene
Lohrke. New York: D. Appleton
Century Co.
THIS is slightly curious book. 1t
can be recommended to people
who care for what may be called
the minor strain in writing 1t Is
not important, but it is arresting. A
/
a bus. Each has different destina-
ton in mind, each thinks that the
bus is taking him thers. But the
| bus, rushing through rain-washed
landscape, has no driver, and the
passengers are men and women who
have just died. Only one of them
has an inkling of the truth.
The author makes each one think
| his life through, and that is about
all. He attempts nothing beyond the
setting down of the separate his
tories, as each passenger reminisces.
! The thing that Is memorable Is the
style, the drugged, level, somnolent
style. 1t is we'll in keeping with
the somber subject. In some passages
it is almost hypnotic. The effect
Is as of a melody played in minor
key, repeated again and again. and
haunting. To those who find pleasure
in small, quiet undercurrents in the
great, turgid stream of letters, this
book should have distinct value.
KIT CARSON DAYS. BY Edwin
Legrand Sabin. New York: The
Press of the Pioneers, Inc.
THIS lively work, comprising two
volumes of over 400 pages each,
comes to us as an enlarged and re-
written version of work of the same
name which was published in 1914.
Much new material has been added,
the writer tells us. In sum, it Is
gathering together of many aspects of
the historical period of which it
treats-of the towns Of the day, the
trails, the life of the mountain men,"
the Indians, the Southwest, Fremont,
the Northwest and California-an
threaded together in the narrative
of the life of Kit Carson. AS such,
of course, it is more than mere
biography. 1t is instead q sort of
Kaleidoscope picture of the Far West
in the early half of the nineteenth
century.
A work of this kind will naturally
command the attention of every one