Evening star., 1936-02-05
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
THE EXILE. BY Pearl s. Buck. New
York. Reynal g. Hitchcock, Inc.
Margaret Cernlcnd.

Tomorrow will witness the introduc-
ton of new book by Pearl s. Buck. If
it wins the popularity that it merits
the demand for it will by sundown have
far exceeded the available supply. An
other "if" that clings with persistent
tenacity to thoughts about the book is
an expression Of very sincere convic-
ton induced by the great strength Of
its subject. If this story of an in
vincible, and until now unsung, Amer
ican woman were made the subject OF
study wherever groups are gathering to-
gether for either educational or spiritual
guidance there would need be no further
fear for the safety of the principles of
citizenship of government and of re-
ligion upon which this Nation was found
ed. The country that produced the
mother of Pearl Buck cannot wander
far from the ideals which made possible
the development of type of courageous
ing of mortals whose experiences are
measurable only by a limited yard
stick Nor is it conceivable that the
child of such a mother could don the
mantle of hypocrisy when truth and
Righteousness demanded frank avowal
of facts.
Carrie unconquerable woman of Amer
lea, was born during that strange period
in the Nations history when distorted
conception of the proper spiritual guid-
ance of humanity resulted in fire and
birthstone sermons that tortured the
minds and filled with terror the hearts
of the youth of the land. In her veins
was mingled the blood of an intensely
religious, visionary Dutch father ana a
gay-hearted, practical French mother.
These two had come to America with
group of several hundred Hollanders and
settled in the hill country that later
was carved into the State OF West Vir-
ginia 1t was in the clean, wholesome
atmosphere of this hill country home
that Carrie grew to sturdy, happy young
womanhood.
What a pity that the free, pure spirit
of a girl whose nature responded warmly
to the beauty of life should be clouded
by a myth concerning her soul. Like her
mother, she could not feel" the religion
which custom demanded of her There
FORE she could not be good. 1t behooved
her, then, to devote her life to some noble
purpose in order to prove that she wanted
to be good. The opportunity to make this
self-sacrifice came in the form OF young
preacher afire with ambition to save the
souls of the benighted heather OF China.
She married him and went with him to
his chosen field of work.
From the stories told by Carrie to her
children in far-off China and from the
diaries kept by her during the long years
of exile from her own people Pearl Buck
presents the story of her mothers lie
in an alien land, with a husband TOO
sanity to be concerned with humanity
except in terms of souls; too far removed
from the realities of life to be bothered
about whether or not his wife could
endure the rigors of incesSant child
bearing; too holy to grieve over the death
without adequate medical attention OF
four of their seven children.
But there is no bitterness in the por-
trayal of these characters by one OF the
three who survived the hardships and
hazards of life that are the share OF
aliens in the interior of China. With all
of the straightforwardneS and beauty OF
honesty that has characterized the earlier
works of fiction of Pearl Buck she now
presents the true story OF woman VINO
made an American home wherever she
lived, planted an American garden, Kept
the beauties of her West Virginia nome
always in the minds of her children and
taught them American ideals and prln-
ciples. A woman, in fact, who lived
America. In Mrs. Bucks own words,
"she was America"
For a better understanding Of what
constitutes the ideal in spiritual, national
and home life this book is recommended.
DOWN THE DARK ALLEY. BY Bert
rand w. Sinclair. Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
During the days when millions OF
United States citizens were making
mockery of a law that was enacted In
the belief that it was for the betterment
of mankind an entirely legal industry IN
neighboring and foreign lands grew to
enormous proportions. Liquor export
trade out of Vancouver was as old as
the city itself. A port so close to the
forbidden territory was bound to become
an important center of the industry, ana
many of its citizens grew wealthy py
leaps and bounds.
Most of the stories that have been
based upon the prohibition era have
dealt with the racketeering, hi-Jacklng
and gangster development within the
United States. But this story Is toio
from the Vancouver end OF the line,
where ships were loaded with legitimate
cargo and sent to sea with crews wlilng
to run their own risks OF punishment H.
by chance, they were caught within tne
twelve-mile breadth of water which was
supposed to be respected.
Chris Moeller did not return to the
scenes of his childhood to engage IN
get-rich-quick business. He had Two
ambitions to achieve. One was to earn
enough money to perfect an invention,
from which he hoped to amass sunclent
wealth to enable him to demand an
accounting and prove the guilt OF man
whom he had good reason to believe was
living on stolen fortune.
Chris opens shop in which ne sue
cessfully rebuilds broken down motors
and adapts them to the needs OF the
speed carriers out Of Vancouver he
employs Jean Groome, . sensible, nne
girl who needs job. and learns that she,
too, is a victim of some OF his step
fathers high-handed financial manlpu-
lations. Nearness to Colonel George Tar
rant makes the waiting for revenge
somewhat harder to bear. and when the
opportunity to engage in the wealth.
accumulating liquor export trade pre-
sents itself Chris accepts it and leaves
Jean in charge Of the shop. But mean
while Betty Tarrant, daughter Of his
stepfather, has made up her mind to
marry Chris, and the triangle Of two