Evening star., 1953-04-12
Books in Review
Typing Torrid Young Americans
Of the Past 20 Tense Years
Corpus Of Joe Bailey
BY Oakley Hail. Viking; $4.50J
Reviewed by Corter Brooke Jones

Reviewed BY "a
Joe Bailey is only too true
to life.
The character in Mr.. Halls
massive, searching novel is
like too many men we've all
known, all of them likable,
none admirable.
Joe Bailey grew up drifting
with the currents he en-
countered. He could never
quite make up his mind what
he wanted to do about any,
thing. He was easily frustrated,
discouraged. He wanted to get
through college because it was
the thing to do: it meant a
better job, more assured
future. His father had lost his
business, and Joe played foot
ball because it would help him
get through college, or so he
thought. He made a good fra
ternity because he played foot
ball. But when he pulled what
he thought was a boner at q
crucial point in the big game,
he signaled the coach to take
him out and he never played
again. When the war came
along he drifted until the draft
board breathed down his neck,
then went into the Marines
and did we'll enough. He
married without giving it much
thought. He had no ambition
except to attain a certain Sc
curity so that he wouldn't
have to worry and decide SO
many things. Situations
shaped him; he never shaped
them.
ForcefuI Writing
Mr.. Halls narrative, what
ever its defects-the chief one
is its inordinate length-has
a driving force rare these days.
The writing is nearly always
effective. There is too much
detail, but Mr.. Hall uses it,
as Arnold Bennett did, not to
pad out his story, but to de-
Velop his drama and delineate
his characters. Mr.. Hall, can
make you see a person with
a few lines of dialogue ca
pacity seldom found in recent
novelistS.
San Diego was Joe'S home
town. The coastal region be-
tween there and Los Angeles
and later the San Francisco
Bay countryside went to the
university at Berkeley-are a
vivid background. And yet it
is not a regional novel; it
could have happened any,
where.
Joe is not the only character
fully developed. There is Con,
the girl he grew up beside.
He and she never could stay
apart or remain together long.
The very things that bound
them seemed also to destroy
their companionship. There
is Polly, the girl Joe married.
There is her father, an ex-
Berkeley football star and pro-
fessional alumnus. There is
Joe's quiet, understanding fa-
ther. There is Joe's best boy
hood friend, Peter, who was a
homosexual and fought so
hard to ignore and conquer it
and compensated to an extent
by becoming a fighter pilot.
There are others whose images
are as sharp.
Todoy's Average Youngsters
The sad thing is that these
young people are not over
drawn or far-fetched, but that
they probably are average.
They have no faith in God and
not much in man. They are
never halted by the beauty of
a mountain or a beach or a
forest. A sunset is only a re-
minder that night is coming
on and it's time to drive fast
somewhere for dancing, drinks
and temporary oblivion. Mo-
zart, Schubert and Brahms are
only names. Music is the ner-
vouS rhythms of a dance band.
Love Is only sex. Life is only
the next moment or the next
day-how to make it less tire
some. The future is planning
for a bigger, faster car and a
more imposing house. Reading
is something you do when
you're bored with everything
else.
The question is whether Joe
and his associates are worth a
major novel. There is hardly
one person in the book you
could envy or even admire. It
need hardly be argued, how
ever, that the second-rate per-
son, the mediocrity, the fall
ure, is valid material for litera-