Evening star., 1937-11-17
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
SUN ACROSS THE SKY. BY Eleanor
Dark New York. The Macmillan Co

DARK. New York: The Macmillan Co.
An Australian seaside village, partially
transformed into an ideal community, is
the scene of this new novel by Eleanor
Dark, which discusses a common prob
lem of marriage, gives the question a
full measure of objective meditation and
fails, of course, to solve the puzzle created
by civilizations method of regulating
the business of entering into lifetime
partnerships.
The fortunes of three men, the less
interesting affairs of three women and
the destiny of Thalassa, the model COM
munity in which they live, give the story
it's formal pattern. A colorful bit OF
embroidery is that part of the town
across the lagoon which stubbornly re-
mains fishing village.
Oliver Denning, hero of the story, is
young physician who finds himself facing
the problem of his relationship to a
beautiful woman whose concept OF mar
riage does not include an understanding
OIL IIle SDlIlJudl dlll CliloCAOiAoA
through which love is fulfilled. Pity
too often is mistaken for the deeper feel
ing of one human being for another,
and young Dr. Denning too late has dis
covered that his compassion for lonely
girl is partly responsible for his unhappy
state. On the other hand, had Helen's
response to the tenderness showered upon
her after the death of her sister been
l, ~, otn ictin Nf hn or q
inability to face the world alone, life
might have been less complex for both
of them.
ThalasSa is the dream of a Self-made
man come true, the fulfllment of an
ambition based upon a desire to acquire
wealth and to become a power in the
land The town bears little relationship
to Oliver and his difficulties except that
it also is the home of Lois Marshall, a
widowed artist whose friendship has
given him something of beauty and who
has made it possible for him to enjoy
fully the profound philosophy and in
tellectual companionship of Patrick
| Kavanagh, an eccentric Irish poet and
| philosopher whose soul dwells in world
| apart. But to Sir Frederick Gormley
| the model seaside resort is tangible evil
| dence of his rise to a position Of in
| fiuence.
| Sir Frederick is the typical rich man
without a background, without intel
| lectual capacity and with no sense Of
| appreciation of the things which money
| cannot buy. In Transforming the squalid
district into beautiful resort, his DOM
mating motive was the will to exert the
| power which his wealth made possible.
| Perfection of his scheme, however, Is
| denied him because Kavanagh, who owns
and lives in the fishing village, refuses to
| sell the property. The fiSherfolk have
| for generations occupied in contentment
| the tumbledoWn Sllacks which are the
| only homes that they and their an
| cestors have known. Kavanagh himself
| is content. Money and environment are
| things removed from the intellect which
| produces gems of literature beyond the
understanding Of the gross Incorporate
rich man. 1t is natural that Sir Fred
erick feels only contempt for the poet
and that he deliberately plans and hires
a notorious character to execute crime
which only the lowest type of human
| being would contemplate.
Then there is Myra, friend of Sir Fred
| erick, who senses his guilt and fees from
the house to join in an effort to save
the victims of his wrath.
Remembering Back to Coolami' and
the promise it held of future novels in
an Australian setting, this story is a
bit disappointing. The relationships are
not so closely knit as in the former novel,
and there is less atmosphere here than
may legitimately be expected. On its
serious side, however. there is food for
| deep thought in the questions which per-
| pick Oliver, and for which mankind has
not yet been able to provide an answer.