Evening star., 1947-04-13

reviewed py
CARTER BROOKE JONES.
If, as the late Frank Ward
oMalley insisted, the Irish have
no sense Of humor, Mr.. White had
better wire his house against shille-
laghs and brickbats. IT'S enough,
what he has written, to draw the
Little People from the forests, or
to start brawl in any tavern any
where on earth east and west of q
given point in County Kerry.
Perhaps, on the other hand, Mr..
OMalley was only proving by his
libelous assertion that he, like a lot
of other Irishmen, had a strong
feeling for the ridiculous. Maybe
there was truth in what another
Gael, whose name escapes me,
wrote: "It makes an Irishman a lot
madder to agree with him than to
dispute him" In line with that
reasoning, many Hibernians may
enjoy Mr.. Whites book, even though
more than one may add on top of
unrestrained chuckles: "I'll show
him thing or two If ever I catch
up with him, and he must be Eng
lish besides"
1t may be gathered, from the fore
going, that Mr.. White has had aI
bit Of fun at the expense of the
Irish. He has, and yet it's always
questionable which he is kidding
most--the learned, eccentric Eng
hshman or the natives among whom
he has chosen to live In one of the
more remote villages of Fire.
In the Grand Manner.
"The Elephant and the kangaroo"
Is satire In the grand manner, the
sort of thing writers like Swift
wrote in more allegorical settings
when they wanted to express their
opinions of the statesmen of their
day and dared not In the face of the
prevailing censorship. The states
men either were too dumb to figure
out they we're being lampooned, or
else didn't want to admit It.
In 1.-THE Elephant and the Kanga-
roo," The Englshman-whose name,
strangely enough, was White-lived
on the farm of Mickey O'Callaghan
and his wife. Mr.. White
called himself freethinker, but
when what appeared to be the
Archangel Michael told the three |
of them there was to be another
food and they were to build an
ark, he was ready enough to believe
and obey. And he and the devout,
impractical, muddle-headed couple
set out to build an ark by inverting
the hay barn. And there was a
food.
Talent for Homicide.
What happened after that. which
was plenty, you'll have to discover
for yourself. There wasn't, it ap-
pears, single intelligent, help
full, well-disposed, decent, kindly
person Except, of course, this Mr..
White in the whole county. But
he obviously loved them all even
while he denounced. them. Reflect
Ing, Mr. White. after reciting the
talent of his neighbors for homicide,
added:
II suppose they'll murder me be-
fore they've finished. For the sake
of a cigarette card or something.
It's lucky Mickey is timid. He'd be
afraid to make bad shot the first
time and get hurt himself. Not that
he dislikes me. It would be sud-
den whim, as usual. :. What's the
good OF struggling with it all? 1t
isn't only the OCallaghans, it's the
whole island. You might as well
try to reform the Alps. And why
reform them, anyway"
This opus could be construed as
the book to end all books about
whimsical. prosecuted, lovable Irish
folk. Or you may. If you insist, read
into 1t some other allegory Of the
times. However you view 1t, I pre-
dict that you'll get more laughs out
of it than any other book you've
read for long time, even if your
mothers name was Donovan, or
your great-uncle fled from Kilkenny
with a price put on his head by
those British. l.
True, Mr.. White generally uses a
bludgeon when he could have used
q rapier. But he was taking no
chances.