Evening star., 1949-03-20

o~.-e>>@S S~SAAAo
would bring greater liberty or hea'
gles. like the French and Ameri
enough to startle the world, and h
who wanted to be free, men whose
rity. without the fear or acclaim
Of great nations.
How many know the troubled
history of little Jamaica? How
many have followed the bitter
fortunes Of the descendants OF
Spanish and British slaves who
suffered for hundreds of years
before winning a large measure Of
autonomy in 1914?
With the publication of "New
Day." a Jamaican writer Of great
talent is introduced to readers Of
the United States. The book is a
novel bringing in some Of the
history of the Caribbean Island
since 1865, when starving natives
revolted against British rule and
were shot down savagely by the
hundreds. Mr.. Reid has told his
story through a fictitious family,
the Campbells. The narrator is
old John Campbell, who as boy
Of 8 could remember the rebellion
that cost the life of his father and
Of a brother and scores Of friends.
John lived to see the new day."
eliminating in the constitution of
1914 which amounted to rule
under the crown.
Mr.. Reid writes Of the Jamai-
cans with deep compassion and
yet with the understanding that
draws out all the impulsiveness,
generosity and humor Of their
ways. Old John describes his hfe
in the idiom of Jamaica. q dialect,
the author explains. derived in
part from English Of an earlier
day and In part from Welsh. 1t
Is not hard to follow. 1t has a
certain repetitive rhythm and at
times . sharp poetic beauty.
Thus John recalls q storm on q
morning when the sun failed to
come out of the sea. "' soon
the wind will be coming, roaring
down from the lost morning"
And thus he muses. on the present:
AN old man now. me. Many
years bank the flame that was
John Campbell" And 50 he tells
Of q voyage in a sail canoe: 'The
sail is singing mathis to the wind
when I wake up. Green water
walks fast past the bow"
CRY TOUGH!
BY Irving shulman. (Dtal
Press; So
Two years ago Mr.. Shulman
published '"The Amboy Dukes,
. vivid story Of an adolescent gang
In Brooklyn. Cry Tough!" is the
second book in . projected trilogy
about some of the Dukes" and
what happened to them when they
grew up.
1.-THE Amboy Dukes" ended II
tragedy. with the principal char
acter, Frank Goldfarb. dead. and
leaders of the Club" sent to
prison. "Cry Tough!" opens with
Mitch Wolf. one Of the Dukes
Just back from serving his time
in a reformatory. He goes back
to his respectable family-his
father is a master tailor-but
Mitch does not know what he will
do. He is torn between the wish
to stay clear Of the companions
and the environment that sent
him to prison and a desire for the
easier, more exciting life Of a
gangster. He is shocked to md
that his sister Is engaged to q
policeman. He looks up two OF
the old Dukes, Larry and Bull. u
They have connections" and they
invite him in, but Mitch wavers
He tries learning the tailoring
trade. It is hard work. When he
meets the racketeer to whom the
shopowner is paying protection, u
Mitch is offered "easier money
and succumbs. He slips deeper
into the half-world Of rackets
and mobs. He still thinks he
should quit, but now it's too late
Mr.. Shulman has written this
story with dramatic restraint. II
would have been easier to turn 1t
into melodrama, with Mitch stop
ping q bullet or going back up
state for q long prison term. AZ
It is, the youths gradual estrange-
ment from his family and the flnal
loss of his chance to marry the
honest girl who loves him and
settle down to q lawful life are
more poignant.
While "Cry Tough!" lacks the
suspense Of THE Amboy Dukes, u
the sequel Is q mature study Of a
wavering mind. Mr.. Shulman
shows that juvenile crime Is more
than the problem Of the under
privileged" Mitch's family did
not lack comforts. Nor was prison
the handicap that sent him back
to crime. Excitement and easy
money lured him.
Mr.. Shulman writes Of Jewish
families In Brooklyn with insight
and sympathy and yet effectively
enough to show their problems
from every angle.
CUTLASS EMPIRE
BY r. Van Wyck Mason. (Dou-
bleday; $3J
This popular historical writer's
new romance is based on the ca
reer of Henry Morgan. surely the
most glamorous of the adven-
turers who sailed out OF Europe
to try their luck in the New
World Of the 17th century.
Morgan, the author feels. was
no more a pirate than any OF the
buccaneers-and the terms are