Evening star., 1938-04-03
GENEVA MIRRORED
Men Identified With the League of Nations
and Its History Are Presented by
Two British Journalists.

ence of strong armies In the liberal
countries will discourage the dictator
ships f!om starting war. Significantly,
however, he points out the most dam
gerous spot Of Europe as Austria and
Czechoslovakia, with the danger lying,
as ne sees it, In Germanys possible
conduct toward those governments.
Events since the publication Of his
book bear out his warning and indi-
cate that he is a shrewd diagnostician.
Viewing the two books individually,
one can recommend "A Mirror to
Geneva as an ironically sympathetic
story of the worlds most recent ex-
cursus into idealism, and offer Inter-
mission in Europe" for a good, lively
story OF the profession of journalism as
1t is practiced by a peace-loving indi-
Vldual among wars and rumors of wars.
JOURNEYS BETWEEN WARS. BY
John Dos Passos New York:
Harcourt, Brace & Co.
John DOS PASsOS is a brilliant
writer who, some way or other,
produces dull books. That is a very
curious thing. but it is true. If you
read him sentence by sentence, or
even paragraph by paragraph, you
are fascinated by the fire and crackle
OF his style. But as you go on with
him to chapter by chapter you are
aware that question is obstinately
forming In the back of your mind,
and the question will be as to where
IN any place. Mr.. Dos Passos is ar
irving. Then, if you persevere unto
the end of one of his works, you
Will probably conclude that he is a
line hand with trees, but that all
woods are alike to him; he wanders
in them happily and if, at the end
OF his meandering, he finds himself
back where he started, it troubles
him not at all. He loves words, one
gathers. but his thought processes are
elementary or. at best, highly casual.
Ihls limitation interferes with his
work most markedly when he is pro-
ducing novels. and that. no doubt.
explains why 1t is that in his novels
he uses his powers as spectacular
stylish most unrenittingly. He realizes,
apparently, that his fiction needs all
the fireworks which he can give it.
And in his time he has blinded quite
respectable number of critics. too
Ihere are those of the critical pro-
teSSlon indeed who have proclaimed
him profound and daring thinker
ana have done their proclaiming in
aWe-stricken tones. Actually, Mr.. Dos
Passes is no thinker at all. He is
instead what used to be called a fine
descriptive writer. He has mastered
the art of putting sensory impressions
into words. That he does with
certain splendor But, beyond that,
he does very little.
1t naturally follows that, with so
cireumscribed gift. he is best at the
short sketch, where no extended men,
tai continuity is necessary. The pres
ent book is collection of such
sketches. 1t is collection of travel
notes, taken from their authors wan
derings over America, Europe and the
Near East. A good part of them has
been previously published, but there is
considerable new material in the VOL
ume. too. The net impression of the
work is OF vivid sights seen wildly.
Ihere is some political and sociological
tnought-letting here and there, to be
sure, but 1t Is unmemorable. It has
been put in, one feels, for fashions
sake-it has been applied, as it were,
from duty whenever Mr.. Dos Passos
has been writing of those countries in
which there are blatantly large polit-
lcal problems. His treatment of such
problems. however. is in his usual
manner of amiable shallowness, It
Will not spoil the book for the reader
who can appreciate it for its real
merit-that is, for a piece of fine SEN
sorry reporting
The book goes back as far as to
1916, containing some sketches of
Spain which, if the reviewer remen-
bers correctly, were originally pub
lished under the title "Rosinante |
Takes the Road Again" It then treats |
of the Near East as Mr.. Dos Passos
~" Az oe NoA AOAo tllIlCS U6lWe0n lSZl |
and 1926. 1t reports his visit to Rus
sla IL years after the revolution and |
IL ENDS with a second discussion of |
Spain, this time in relation to her
present situation. In this final section |
are also included some sketches from
Mexico.
None of the pieces are more than a |
few pages long, sharp cracking i'm
pressions they are of men, women and
places. To such brief efforts Mr.. Dos
Passos can impart feeling of signifi-
canoe. He does it at times by trick.
cry, to be sure, but still he does it. He
has, one feels, a snapshot mind, and if,
IN taking his vivid photographs, he
uses some artifice in lighting, it is be-
side the point to quarrel with that.
1t seems unlikely that any one will
find his separate pieces here uninter-
eStlng. Whether any one will want tn |