Evening star., 1936-02-22

AOOullan ana ANtlONy ADpOL.
New York: Green Circle Books.
written that it does seem to be a
worthy enterprise.
LAND DsW1THOUT SHADE. BY Hans
Helfritz. Translated from the
German by Kenneth Kirkness.
New York: Robert M. Mcbride
& Co.
AS THE world become narrower
the market for books about i'm
probable places grows correspondingly
wider, or SO it would seem to one who
looks over a great many volumes of
all sorts and conditions.
For not only is there an increase
in books of travel, as they are called,
but within that group there is
noticeable secondary growth in works
that treat of back country districts.
and among even these there is a
marked fondness on the part of read
ers for such volumes as purport to be
written about forbidden" lands; SO
that in ever-swelling numbers our
enterprising writing men and women
scurry off to Tibet, or the country of
the head hunters (Wherever it may
be- or to particularly nasty sections
Of the Arctic Circle, or to the Straits
Settlements or to Arabia.
Arrived, by the simple device of
keeping track of the number of miles
they move and seeing to it that they
have couple of narrow squeaks, and
are threatened by native chieftain
or two, they usually turn out quite a
respectfully marketable product. t..
Writing skill is by no means neces-
sary, nor is the capacity to become
lmbued with the genius Of the coun-
try visited. The number of miles is
of first importance, and after that
just some native customs" and you
have book to make the eyes of pub
fishers glow with justif1able anticipa-
ton of neat profits
So we have here a book about
Arabia, Arabia in it's forbidden"
aspect, Arabia of that district where
no white men are permitted to
visit" 1t is not uninteresting and
the pictures are really grand.
UP IN THE HILLS, by Lord Dunsany.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
TN THIS full-length novel, Lord Dun
sany may the saints send him
happinessD gravely tells the tale of
how Mickey Connor, aged Is, alarmed
because the three old women of Cra-
nogue had started cursing land no one
knows where a curse niay falD fled
into the hills and placed himself at
the head of an army of eight friends
and started a private war And
pleasant, unreasonable tale it is, too,
and one that you should be reading.
AS to what Mickey's war was about,
he explained it himself to girl whom
he met in an orchard as follows:
7 hear you have a great army now,'
were her first words to him.
"'I have he said, for it was not for
him to undo the work that rumor had
done for him.
Where have you them?' she asked.
Cup in the hills he said.
"'What are your politics?' she asked.
"'Just against the government an
swered Mickey.
Which government asked Alan
nah, for the English had only been
gone year.
ANY government said Mickey.
Sure, what's the use of them? No
man can be free when there's gov
over him.
He cannot said Alannah. But
who are you fighting against?'
Sure, no one yet,' replied Mickey.
But I got very wicked letter from
Patsy Heffernan.'
"'Oh, don't 60 to war with Patsy
she said
why not?' he asked
"Hes' terrible wicked she said.
so am l. said Mickey"
And so he went to war with Patsy
Heffernan. And SO this story, which
might have been mere Stringing to-
sether of exaggerations, becomes, by
,he genius of this rare writing man,
delicate and moving parable of high
and constancy and courage,
} tale which falls outside realities, but
which, by the perfection of its propor-
ions, throws a light on realities that
shows them to us in significance far
exceeding any they possess when wear
ly looked at from their own sad levels. |
There have been some truly fine vol
lnes of statistics put OUT in the past
few weeks, but the reviewer perversely
recommends "Up in the Mills"
DOCTOR MORATH. BY Max Rene |
Hesse. Translated from the Ger
man by Edward Crankshaw. Bos-
ton: Houghton Miff1in Co.
THIS is novel with hospital set
ting, further made dor the
American reader) a work of scene by |
he circumstance that the hospital is |
n Buenos Aires. When the book was !
published abroad the New York Times
wrote of it:
Social scenes of great charm al
'ernate with philosophic converse
ions of cultured men with hospital |
experiences and expert descriptions of |
and with scenes from mar
tai life that lay bare the most hidden
ecrets Of passion
Despite the exquisite phrasing and |
ubtle analysis of this critical obser-
alton, the present reviewer holds that
ocial scenes even Of great charm and
conversations even of cul-
ured men, together with descriptions
t operations and the laying bare of
he secrets of passion do not neces-
arily make novel. In just the same
ashton, she holds that the participle
hidden" ig rot cannaraf1le as 11sad |