The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-06-02

There's lots of bright converse ton, most of 1t forced or cute, and two likable characters. These are the Burgoynes, a successful play wright team, who are so-o-o sophis- ticated they can afford to act nat ural. The rest of the crowd you wouldn't want to give house room to.
 Cordelia, about whom the story revolves, is a self-centered little minx who, oddly enough, can't bear to take the consequences of her own misdeeds. Jay Newhouse, who can't seem to extricate himself from the web of Cordelia's fatal charm, is a well-meaning and priggish fool whose shoulder is always there for Cor della to cry on if she feels like it.
 James Malfrey, Cordelia's hus- band, is a psycho-neurotic incapable of love but quite adept at psycho- logical cruelty. There are others: Mary, whom James thought to get rid of by marrying Cordelia; Mona Blount, who makes career of twist ing other peoples emotions; the Mainwaring sisters, who represent the rudeness of high society. All in all, it's an unattractive crew that seems to go around in circles. While the circles aren't always concentric, one is still inclined to wonder why the author thought they were worth writing ab6u tS he justified herself by pointing out that these are the people who, by their indifference to everything but themselves, are re- sponsible for wars. Which may very well be so but in itself doesn't make them good story material.
 LOVE AND TERROR
 There's many a shudder in Great Tales of Terror and the Super natural" a symposium edited by Herbert A. Wise and Phyllis Fraser (Random House: $295).
 The editors have gone to great lengths to dig up these blood- curdlers, among them being "A Ter ribly Strange Bed" by Willkie Col line, Silent Snow, Secret Snow," by Conrad Aiken, Was It a Dream?" by Guy de Maupassant, and ''The Ghost Ship" by Richard Middleton.
 There are more than 1000 pages in this volume, lot of them guar ahteed to kep you awake nights.
 "The Red Cock Crews" by Frances Gather (Macmillan: $2.75), is a tragic historical novel of the old South that comes as another of the large number of books written the last couple of years on that section:
 Adam Fiske, a Yankee school teacher, goes to the southland to teach and there falls in love with the belle of the community, daugh- ter of the biggest slayeholder of the neighborhood. Standing out head and shoulders over Fiske and his sweetheart as the leading light in the story is the Negro headman of the plantation, Scofieid. Thinking himself the chosen person to deliver his people from bondage, Scofield staged a slave instruction that adds teror to a love story.
 Mknb Gattktrf Au0Wb WbbSSeUA ehtS writes, you gather from reading this excellent novel.
 ON LAND AND SEA
 Sailors of Fortune" by Colin Mackenzie lDutton: e250) is the personal narrative of a young man who was rejected as physically unfit when he tried to enlist after Pearl HarboT, turned around and signed up with the Merchant Marine, and found more adventure and peril than would be the reasonable lot Of . paratFooper.
 Mackenzie had the incredible ex- peFience of being toFpedoed three times in 2a hours while on his first trip. Finally he was picked up by the Navy, returned to Trinidad for c lengthy hospital stay tteacup Of oil vas piped from his lungs. his leg vas shattered. and to top tt off he had maiaFial and from there went home for a bond tour Of war plants.
 That done with. Mackenzie re- turned to sec. was ir on the land- a.--. ah Ea.aM mlal1us ..aaMana eaa anasnk