Evening star., 1949-06-19

tIlHt SIcuStu 61Q UUUydIICy udSc
quiet routine he has lodged since
Mr.. Davis starts his novel about
such romances end. Usually the
the fabulous mine or kneels at the
altar with the bewitching dame
he has had to fight a small war tc
win.
Steve Lewis Is only 30. but he's
through setting out In search OF
excitement. as he's done 50 many
years. He's had to Quit the Army
In the middle Of the biggest war
of all and accept the ignominy OF
retirement and pension. His heart
has gone bad. Well. 30 that's that
and let's make the best Of 1t. he
muses. after a binge or two In de-
fiance Of the military medicos who
warned him to live In monastic
tranquility. So he rents a rum
down Ito put it mildly farm In
Arkansas and starts fixing UP the
battered house and putting In q
vegetable garden.
Worth Telling.
In this solitude Steve has un-
limited time to take stock of his
life. He has always fancied him
self a writer. intending one day
to complete the novel he has often
started, and so he begins setting
down his "reminiscences. They are
worth telling.
Steve came from a stuffy New
England family living In a suburb
of Boston. He was destined for
Harvard, but, finishing high
school. he escaped by taking pas
sage as an oiler on q ship bound
for South America. There were
other voyages. Then a hitch in
the Regular Army cavalry on the
Mexican Border (1916, when Villa
was rampanD and after that the
first World War. Steve won med
als In France. but when he came
back he couldn't settle down. He
began the wanderings that were
to last for many years. Most Of
the time he was alternatively O
marine or a soldier. There were
women In his life. What adven-
turer ever Stunned them? In
fact, Steve was married three
times In the course Of the years.
But his wives. while captivating
creatures. were q strange lot, and
you're inclined to agree with'him
that he tried to make q 60 Of
these marriages, but the cards
were against him.
Credible Man.
Steve Ia q credible, sympathetic
fighting man. Even his adventures
ere on the plausible side. except
maybe the extraordinary court
martial in Haiti. and perhaps even
that could have happened. There
Is pathos in the old soldier, putter-
ing around the dilapidated farm,
o hound puppy his only COM
panion, And you like him for his
grateful kindness to his nearest
neighbor. the colored farmer who
did 50 many generous things for
Steve.
In his diary Steve keeps track
Of the present and traces the past.
and there Is never any confusion.
In the final chapter 1t looks for q
moment as II the author Is going
to close on q Hollywood cliche. but
Mr.. Davis receivers In time and the
ending 10 suitably ironic. The
book is on the lengthy side and
might have. been trimmed without
damage. But it remains interest,"
ing and often absorbing. Play
time Is Over" seems to me the
best Of several creditable novels
MIR. Davis has written.
A TALE OF POOR LOVERS
BY vasco Pratolini. Viking;
$500
Tourists visiting Florence, in
tent on the Palazzo Vecchio and
O world Of Italiansart. never would
find the mean alley around which
this novel has been written. It Is
doubtful If any Of the residents of
the Via del Como ever heard OF
such illustrious fellow townsmen
as Michelangelo and Cellini. but
they are wise In the ways Of
wrestling q living from little or
nothing.
Mr.. Pratoltni has written Of the
alley as 1t was In 1925, soon after
the Fascists came into power. Few
Of the people in the Via del Corno
cared about politics-their inter-
est was In the modicum Of COM
fort and pleasure which was all
they expected Of life. But even
in this humble quarter party
xealots collected tribute from the
thrifty tradesmen who had some
thing, and those who were bold
enough to oppose the regime OPEN
" usually were found beaten in
sensible. And the police watched
the alley for other reasons. Ger
tain men were thieves or fences,
and there was always o stool pig
con or two to report every illegal
transaction.
The young italian novelist.
popular in hiss country, writes
wildly OF these people. Despite
the crowded squalor. the vice, the
brutality, there was tender, un-
selfish love, kindness and piety
that transcribed the meanness of
living. Life Ia at best . prison
cell, and the poorer one Is the
closer the walls; but the important
thing j TO attain that inner sta
bility which makes the world as
vast % the sky"
There are 20 many characters
that they are hard 10 keep track
Of, although the cast printed at the
front Of the book Is helpful. Some
times the story bogs down In q
profusion Of detail. but on the
whole "A Tale Of Poor Lovers" Is
o compelling drama.