Evening star., 1938-01-09

only crusader and the abuses were
screamingly bad. then the spectacle
of his assault was an entertaining
one. But today Nargely thanks to
him) there are a dozen good critics
and, as he admits, much Of the wrong
has been corrected. Might not simple
proportion indicate that q change Of
tactics is not wholly out Of order?
1t would be restful anyway, and these
are weary times.
FOREVER ULYSSES. BY G. P. Rodo-
canachi. Translated from the
Greek by Patrick Leigh -Fermor.
New York: The Viking Press.
WHEN the reviewer had read a few
pages in this novel (the January
choice Of the Book OF the Month Club
she told herself that 1898 was not
going to be such bad year in fiction
after all. For the book begins ex-
trernely well. In fact. it begins super
bly,. But, if its qualities are to be con-
sidered as analogous to the course Of
literature through the coming twelve
month, then our fiction output ought
to begin to sag in merit about next
July. For just little more than half
way through the merits Of Forever
Ulysses" begin to sag themselves.
Nonetheless, there is sufficient excel
lence in the book to make it more than
fit for recommending In its begin
ming, as said, 1t is absolutely splendid.
II is the story of a Greek-or, as
the author evidently wants us to under
stand, the Greek, the modern Greek
who typifies the soul of Greece, the
Greek who by being the arch-type Of
all the nations heroes becomes typi-
cal of the nation. Those of us who
numbe our acquaintances among the
Hellenes by certain amiable Nicks and
Georges who sell us newspapers and
grapes, may find Mr.. Rodocanachi' s
Ulysses somewhat hard to recognize.
But Mr.. Rodocanachi is a Greek him.
self, and We must believe that he
knows whereof he speaks.
The story begins with the hero
leaving home at the age of 7 in order
not to be a burden on his poverty
stricken mother. There follow ac-
counts of his picturesque living in the
streets Of Argostoli and Athens, where
he tries to earn his living as boot
black, OF his dubious attachment to
the crew Of nge-hshing boat
which is secretly smuggling hashish,
OF how he sWindles the captain out of
the profits of the illicit trade, of his
apprenticeship to a grocer in Alexan-
dria and of efforts to set himself up in
trade selling drinks to British SOL
diers which end in his being cap
tured by the dervish Mahdi in the
assault of that worthy's troops on
Gordon in Khartoum. All this is
written in the most delightful manner,
Stinglngly sharp. vivid and polished.
One is certain Of Mr.. Rodocanachis s
genius as one reads and, too, one wants
to congratulate his translator. That
is the way the book begins, If you see
what the reviewer means.
But, after Ulysses finds himself
slave to the Mahdi the narrative of
his adventures takes on a different
quality. To that point it has been
told in the most realistic detail; from
that point it deals in large generali-
ties. We are told that the hero, like
Joseph in Egypt, became so useful to
his master that he was indispensable;
he remained slave, but was laden
with rich gifts; his counsel was ac-
cepted over that of all other advisers i;
he was the real power in the Mahdi' S
realm, in other words.
RUT all this is told us without that
delightful precision of detail
which marks the first passages Of the
book. 1t is as If the author had him.
self been a bootblack, fisherman,
grocer's apprentice and the like, but,
not unaccountably, had omitted from
his experience the position of chief
adviser to rebel chief of Egyptian
dervishes. And, like all writers. he is
best at telling what he actually knows
And from then on this same fault
obscures the narrative. Ulysses career
becomes more and more magnificent
but also steadily vague He betrays
the Mahdi to Kitchener, he goes
bankrupt, he comes to America and
works for two years as cigarette
roller; then. within a month, makes
million and half dollars on a blend
nf hn
He enters American high finance and.
eventually, becomes an international
man of mystery" and "armaments
king" changing. as it were. from the
role of Joseph to that Of the late Sir
Basil Zaharoff The World War
breaks out and Ulysses is the power
who makes or breaks governments,
generals and rulers. The war ends
and he DEGREES that the factories
which have been shell-making shall
turn their powers to making the i'm
plements of peace. When one f1nan-
cier replies that his government will
object to such a course, Ulysses tells
him that governments which object
will go. He is, the slightly incredu-
lous reader is given to understand,
the greatest power in the world.
But the steps by which he came to
this power and the means to which
he puts it are all set down in large
and general terms. The book here
has an Arabian Nights" quality, as II
the author told us, MY hero was now
supreme over all men," and left US to
believe In the fairy tale. But the
novel did not begin as a fairy tale,
and the inescapable fact is that the
beginning is far better than the rest
of 1t.
The authors purpose has plainly
been to show us the soul of the modern
Greek and. in order to do this, he has
felt it necessary to place his hero
both high and low, to surround him
with difficulties and also with great
wealth and power. And, as his mar
rative progresses. he more and more
frequently interrupts 1t with disqusi-
tions on the Hellenic spirit and with
comparisons OF that spirit with the
spirits of other races. These argu-
ments are somewhat hard to accept.