Evening star., 1944-12-31
FICTION.

This summing up of the books OF
the year will deal with fiction first.
To be sure, the year has not been
a particularly good one in fiction.
With the exception of few high
spots, it has been a rather poor
one. And, of course, the war holds
every ones interest first. But the
novel stands as the bright particu-
lar star of literature and its position
at the top is by way of making at
least a token claim for the normal
order.
The years great fctional distinc-
ton of course is that it saw the
completion of Thomas Mann's
Joseph saga. Joseph the Pro-
wider" CKnopD, coming out last sum-
mer, brought the great series to
its end. And I prefer not to en-
phasize the volume particularly, but
to speak of it as part of the sequence
The volumes seem to me inseparable
Under DR.. Mann'S treatment the
Joseph story has become vast and
completely unique structure in mod
ern letters and to understand its
character one must read it as a
whole.
Aldous Huxley's novel, Time Must
Have a Stop" (Harpers) is also a
sort of capstone, though to a writer's
personal progress rather than to a
planned sequence. 1t states In nc
ton form Mr.. HuXleys solution OF
the dual nature of man, wherein
lies also in his view the solution
of the public problems OF war and
peace, justice and injustice. In time
to come, Aldous Huxley, in my opin-
ion will be rated the genius OF his
age, a conSummate literary artist and
a lucid philosopher. Each of his VOL
umes has represented step in his
thinking and their significance is to
be measured accordingly.
Other veteran writer's whose nov
els have been on the years list are
Upton Sinclair, w. Somerset
Vaughan and Jules Romans.
with presidential Agent" (Viking)
Mr.. Sinclair about ran his current
series on international society into
the ground; the book was little bet
ter than sheer nonsense. Mr..
Vaughan added another best sell
Ter to his long list of such felicities
in THE RaZor's Edge" doubleday
Doran) and won from the critics
such praise as that the new novel
was not far behind "Of Human
Bondage" Mr.. Romans just turned
out one more of his Men of Good
Will' chain. He called it Work
and Play" (KnopD and it was not
much one way or the other.
The best seller list for the year
had the honor of including some
works of genuine merit. When the
controversial "Strange Fruit" by
Lillian Smith (Reynal & Hitch
cock) came out. I then named
it as one of the most serious and
comprehensive pieces of fiction writ
ten on the race problem. My opinion
is unchanged "A Bell for Adano,'
by John Hersey KnopD, has also
received high rating, as has Earth
and High Heaven" by Gwethalyn
Granam Nippincott). "The His
tory of Rome Hanks" (Scribners)
introduced a new writer to the
world and best sellerdom, Joseph
Stanley Pennen. His was novel
of monumental size and represented
a vast amount of research into its
period-the Civil War.
A first novel which seems to me
to be of great promise is "BOs-
ton Adventure" by Jean Stafford
Harcourt Brace. And, of course,
the strictly news angle of the year
makes mention of the phenomenon
of Forever Amber" by Kathleen
Winsor (MacMillan) imperative. I
found it very hard shedding. 1t is
sold out, by all reports, to something
like the end of 1948.
BIOGRAPHIES.
Among biographies two have out
ranked all others in popularity and
have also established their claims to
excellence. These are Yankee From
Olympus" the life Of Justice Oliver
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