Evening star., 1946-08-18
THE DEVIL IS A LONELY MAN

By Morrison Wood. (CroweH;;
49,
1t has been said by some one that
90 per cent of genius is energy. I
thought OF the statement as I read
this novel. It Is an amazing work
into which the energy Of the writer
was poured with unlimited prodigal-
ity. II, however, the unknown whom
I have quoted offered an analysis OF
the remaining 10 per cent of genius
INGREDIENTS, I do not remember what
he said. I thought of that, too, while
I was going through Morrison
Woods torrential work of fiction.
OF my own initiative, I would say
that a certain part Of them would
be vision, and that Mr.. Wood had it..
But another part certainly would be
discipline and the faculty for ar
|rangement, and those he lacked.
The result of the pluses and minuses
is a novel which has inspiration, a
great force and most grateful free
dom from prevailing fashions, but
which is also given to incoherence,
repetition and what seem to be plain
evasions In the matter Of structural
labor. Even so, it is a book to be
taken note Of and, but for one cir
cumstance, I would consider Mr.
Wood writer of more promise than
has been shown by any newcomer In
a long time. That circumstance Is
that Mr.. Wood is dead.
He enlisted in the Army in 194Q
after brief career of extraordinary
versatility-poetry, playwriting, act
ing and music all having claimed
his interest. He was in the Philip
pines at the time Of the surrender
He died of dysentery in a japanese
prison camp. THE Devil Is Lonely
Man" was shipped to America from
Corregidor on one OF the last trans
ports to leave.
The publisher does not say when
the book was written, but presum-
ably some Of it was done while the
author was In military service. 1t
Is not, however, a book about the
recent war. or, for that matter, about
any specific war. It is about the
need in men-and women-whlch
makes them fight and in that sense
it is about all wars. 1t Is a MYSTICAL
psychological tale set in what any
reader must regard as an imaginary
country. It's terrain, to be sure. is
Southern California and its time is
the period between the Civil War
and the present. But Mr.. Woods
imagination has colored both time
and place to such an extent that
neither bears any essential resem-
blance to recorded history.
The Urge to Conquer and Rule.
The protagonist Of the tale is a
conquering giant Of man, son OF a
Southern slave holder, who goes out
to the West after the war to recoup
his dwindling fortunes. This man,
Anthony Wayne, Mr.. Wood casts in
the role of the combative male, the
representative Of the race who SYM
bolizes the urge to conquer and rule
anu has Lllc SCIl1uo W Wv oo' fAAi
thony easily becomes the great man
of California. He is elected Senator
and offered the nomination for the
presidency. Needless to say, he
amasses enormous wealth.
But, says Mr.. Wood, the great
circumscription on such a males
power is his dependence on the
female, and a result Of that depen-
dence is inevitable resentment Of
the female. So he shows us Anthony,
not in terms of his rise in public
affairs, but in terms Of series OF
adventures in which he alternately
idealizes and hates woman. The
work thus comes down to being a
study of the balance of love and
unlove in a man Of heroic propor-
tions. Anthony is kind of Faust,
except that, in him, the unlove
triumphs. What Mr.. Wood seems to
say is that, If ever love triumphed,
human affairs would come to
standstill. It is combativeness which
makes the race move, in his view.
But he does not glorify the COM
bative urge. The whole progress