Evening star., 1938-06-26
By Mary.Carter Roberts.
THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.
BY Clyde Brion Davis. New York:
Farrar e. Rinehart.

BY Clyde Brion Davis. New York:
Farrar g. Rinehart.
Y asst year Mr.. Clyde Brion Davis
published his first novel. It
was called THE Amounted"
IL The praise which it won from
reviewers was loud and lyrical. Ana
"The Anointed" became best seller.
Naturally the second work Of so SEN
sational newcomer commands an in
terested reading. The reviewer is sorry
to report that she found The Great
American Novel; slow going and
pretty obvious, too.
It is the story Of newspaper man
who has lifelong ambition to write,
as the title has it, the great Amer
lean novel. That is his great dream
and it becomes the core of the mans
silent, unexpressed inner life, the
while he outwardly leads a perfectly
commonplace reporters existence.
Complementing his longing to COM
pose great work of literature is his
corresponding secret emotional life,
which centers about a sweetheart of
his boyhood. He marries ali ordinary,
uninspiring sort Of woman even as
he does ordinary u2inspiring Dews-
paper work, but constantly ne creams
of the girl of his youth and imagires
that he has kept pure passion for
her alive within him. He grows old,
he finds out that his dream of bis
sweetheart has been self-deceit, his
son disappoints him, he is denoted on
his paper to the copy desk at con-
siderable pay cut, his health fails.
But he goes on believing that on the
morrow he will begin his great work.
And so the book :eaves him.
It is, of course, a perfectly true
picture OF a ubiquitous type of news
paper man. There is hardly a paper
which does not have ct least one
such on its staff, graying young men
who cherish lifelong dream cf writ
ing an immortal book AS far as
credibility goes. therefore, the book Is
perfect. So is it in other respects;
the imprint made on the mans es-
sentially uncreative mind by the work
OF genuine creators, for example, so
That his imaginary novel successfully
takes the form of some other mans
creation-this is very good. So, too,
Is the outlining of events during the
years through which the heros his
tory is traced, the years 1906 to the
present. So, too, is the hero's ALWAYS
typical reaction to those events, the
reaction of such sentimental idealists
--high-minded but ignorant, pure
hearted but vulgar-aS America Lred
IN the early decades of the century
indeed, the book is a perfect piece
OF character portraiture, and since It
pretends to be nothing more, it can
oe said that its author is successful
All the same. it is slow-going end
a1ter the reader has caught the idea.
which will happen early in the perusal
OBVIOUS to the point of ,nonotony.
For the Homer Ziglers of the world
are not particularly interesting. The
oellneation OF one Of them over a
period OF 80 years.. with the keeping
OF the character always consistent
through youth and maturity, is to be
sure considerable job-but so would
1T be with any human type as its sub
Ject. Unfortunately, the accuracy of
the painting does not give the subject
interest and the great detail of the
work runs it inescapably into repeti-
tlon. One feels that one knows Homer
very well by the time one is finished
with his interview with Mr.. BRYAN.
which takes place on page %. The
book, however, is 800 pages long and
nothing which Homer does in the
length of it is not perfectly practicable.
You recognize him as living person,
but you get very tired of him. And
your respect for Mr.. Davis skill in
presenting him is matched finally by
your wonder at Mr.. Davis tirelessness.
And that perhaps is not the best
praise to give novelist.
There Is no question in the re-
viewers mind, however, as to the
legitimacy of such a portrait. The
excellence of its workmanship estab-
fishes it; it has to be respected. But
it is portrait done almost altogether
~AA oAAS SOASAy Will Oh
shading. To respect a book is one
thing and to love it is another. The
reviewers reaction to THE Great
American Novel; is, she fears, entirely
limited to intellectual recognition.
1t is nonetheless certain that this
book will be given a great ovation by
newspaper people. Every one likes to
read about the familiar, and every one
who has spent any time in newspaper
work is going to recognize Homer
Zigler for true type. The reviewer
doubts, however, that the book will
have the success of THE Amounted"
For, after all, book has to be read.
And reading The Great American
Novel" is not half hours pleasantly.
HARRY PICKERING. BY Robert
Mcclure. New York: Harcourt
Brace g. Co.
A LMOST the same things have to
be said of this novel as are said
of the one reviewed above. It, too,
is a portrait of an individual who
is type; it, too, carries it's hero from
youth to maturity. 1t, too, is a seri-
GUS and well-executed piece of work,
though not of the fine level of The
Great American Home" And-it is
monotonous reading, obvious from its
inception. What pity that such
good work should 30 to make a story
SO uninteresting!
1t is the life of a man of wealth
that is told here, not that of a
humble dreamer after great deeds.
Harry Pickering is the son of for
tune, the heir great automo-
bile manufacturer, brought up amid
wealth and surrounded by luxury
from infancy. The point which Mr..
Mcclure wishes to make of his story,
however, is that Harry is not so much
the spoiled child as he is one so
lacking in quality that he has moth
ing to preserve, wealth or no wealth;
he is silly, sentimental, greedy, self
indulgent and conceited. He is in
capable of receiving an education or
Of holding a serious job. He is