Evening star., 1938-05-01

looking-in Of course (you under
stand) q certain way.
Now, in spite of an ability to con-
struct a neat plot, Mrs. Banning dis
plays no greater profundity of in
sight than this. In her present story
she has assembled group of four
women and gently picked them to
pieces. No doubt when her script
was finished she felt q virtuous glow,
too. Women who do not write books
get exactly the same sensation from
the aforesaid noting Of the badness
Of sisters clothes or the questionable
nature of her private life. It was pre-
cisely that that made Anatole France
comment on the brutality of women" !"
Alas that he should have been 50 ter
ribly right about it!
In "You Haven't Changed" the four
heroines meet at college reunion.
One is the smart and beautiful wife
of rich man. One Is a distinguished
professor. One is the dowdy wife Of
country doctor. These are of an
age-l0 years out Of school. The other
one Is two years out. She is intelli-
gent (says Mrs. Banning) and beau
tiful. The professor and the rich
mans wife, old rivals, renew their
feud by trying to influence this girls
future.
The professor wants her to 60 on
studying and to take up a career
though just what kind of career Mrs.
Banning does not tell us. The rich
mans wife wants the girl to accept a
wealthy suitor. In other words, each
woman wants to make the younger one
follow her own path. Then some
heavy irony is rung in to show that
neither of the older ones is really
happy-the professor wants to marry
and the rich mans wife is jealous of
her old rivals freedom and public
reputation. The dowdy one steps up
at this point and plays the part of
chorus. setting the girl land the
reader) clear about these influences.
The girl promptly goes of and mar
ries her young man. And that is all.
1t is neatly done, and. as said, its cat
tQlcSS ID OIlly SuOCOIlSClOuS.
OF course. the output of mediocre
female novelist is no worse than that
of man Of similar ability. And no
more typical. either-the thing which
men do being to write dreadful auto
biographical tales about misunder-
stood youths who were too sensitive
for their materialistic surroundings,
ad nauseum. They wishfully glorify
themselves, while women wishfully de-
cry other women. Neither should be
writing books.
LOVE, HERE is MY HAT. BY VIII
liam Saroyan. New York: Modern
Age Books.
THE lively Mr.. Saroyan bounces
around here much as he has
bounced in the past. His present vol
ume Is a collection of stories and al
most any one of them is good-or as
good as any Of the others. One hardly
says Of him that his stuff is good or
bad, however; it is just Saroyan. You
can take it or you can't. Personally,
the reviewer can take q good deal. She
thinks that Mr.. Saroyan. in his less
contemptuouS moments. has developed d
style which is excellent-that he is
genuinely creative. But this collec-
ton will not be the best introduction
to his work. II you have not already
read him. do not form your opinion
on this. He has done better things and
will assuredly do such again. In the
meantime, old hands at his blithe
mockery can struggle along with this.
At least you can say Of it that it Is not
typical. And in these days that is a
very great deal. ..-
RAILROADMAN. BY Chauncey Del
French. New York: The Mac
milan Co.
THIS is the story of a veteran rail-
roader, a man who took his first
railroad job when he was 13 and then
kept on railroading until he was re-
tired at the age Of 70, who was at
various times messenger and call
boy. telegraph operator, a SWITCH
e~>~~AS - SAesnSAoAAy OLA SAAS AlVCA All G.
man. conductor and a yardmaster,
who worked on IS different lines and
remembers the day when safety de-
vices had not yet been thought Of. 1t
makes good yarn and it makes you
respect the early trainmen. In one
yard where he worked. Mr.. Del French
tells us, an average of five men were
killed or crippled every week.
The story is told here simply and
well. Mr.. Del French identified him
self with the railroad business SO
early in his life that he made it his
world. He writes from the inside OF
that world. therefore, giving his book
that delightful quality of exact knowl-
edge which is always havorful. He
tells Of the wild old days when an
engineer was a character with as much
romance attached to him as now ap-
pertains to the air pilot: of roaring
(see BOOK REVIEWS, Page F-5.)