Evening star., 1938-09-04

umphs tirelessly in Soviet literature,
the fatigue comes in time to be felt
by readers. And so novel in which
the hero is not a party worker will
be received as a shining innovation.
And novel which shows a romantic
spirit is doubly an innovation.
Such one is this. 1t reads about
like something by Thomas Nelson
Page. 1t is the story Of great trot-
ter and drivers love for her, Of her
degradation to the status OF draft
horse at the hands of Cossacks dur
ing the revolution, of her eventual
recognition by country vet, and
finally Of the winning of the. cup by
her foal after she herself has passed
on to the land where all good trot-
tiers go. 1t is just sufficiently touched
with sentimentality to be good
hoSS story, in other words, and, as
said. is about the first natural, spon-
viewer from the comrades earnest
forWard-looking land.
WE MARRIED AN ENGLISHMAN.
BY Ruth and Helen Hoffman. New
York: Carrick g. Evans.
THE best thing about this book is
title. After that it tapers off
practically to nothing. 1t is the story
of how the two authors, twin sisters
and vell-known artists, journeyed from
New York to the Near East in order
that Ruth might marry her English
flance. he was an engineer with
Job out there. They departed taking
Is trunks and two cats. They arrived
and set about making home on the
banks OF the Tigris. They discuss
here their struggles with native serv-
ants, with the heat, with the cold and
with insects, and generally assure you
that they had great. big jolly picnic
out there on the great big jolly desert.
In other words, 1t is one of those things
wherein woman bubbles about the
cook and the drapes. The formula is
familiar. About every six months some
enterprising gal whose husband has
been working IN the wilderness some-
where, comes out with a tale Of how
she made the mining camp blossom
as the rose. Ordinarily it Is one wom-
an who does 1t. The formula Is not
improved by the dual authorship.
BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH. BY
Brian O'Brien. New York: Lee
Furman, Inc.
A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS authentic
stuff-surrenders itself completely
to the pages of this whimsical title.
1t is the old-fashioned Darkest Africa
type long since believed in extinction.
yet at the same time has a nice varia-
ton OF the old and is related in
virile, lively manner.
CAMERON. shortly after the World
War deprived of Germany and placed
in care of the French, provides lush
setting. Mr.. OBrien, presumably tell
ing his own experiences, is a trader
working for French colonial concern.
Trading in CAMERON for such as
palm oil, rubber, etc, embodies much
bush beating fraught with wearying
treks, animal menaces and the black
mans natural latency.
Elephant hunts and gorilla hunts
abound That is to be expected. Aside
from the obvious thrills of these en-
terprises, the headstrong O'Brien stirs
excitement by his fippancy and nerve
with unscrupulous traders and obsti-
nate natives. He earns the reputation
of a fearless hunter and pioneer,
hence the respect of both whites and
blackamoor. Also he is usually in
volved in drunken braWls at the ex-
pense Of French soldiers and innkeep-
ers; though virtuous, complicated in
tanglements with other peoples
women.
For the most part unpretentious. the
book affords a revealing image of
native custom and characteristic and
notions of the position of colonials-
j. s.