The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-09-21
LANDSCAPE oE TIE HEART

LANDSCAPE Ot THE HEART
by Letlie Rogers, contemporary
psycholog cal move published hy
Random House, New York city,
2as pages
The treatment Of the threat n
any yarn, Is an important element
In plot construction and contributes
eosiderably 10 ths success Of
novel.
Threats are as vEued Is the abb.
ny Of mans Imagination 10 play on
the situations which have faced or
might face man OF any living thlng
on this or any other planet. II may
be some very eliehe menace like
another man threatening 10 take
the heroine's love from the hero.
u may be the old mel0dramatic
railroad train coming down the
track 10 threaten the lie u the
heroine tied 10 the rails. And again
I, might be q spaeeship run amuek
IN the milky way and menaCing the
hero moSeying along In another
space craft.
Or again. Il might be something
which the reviewer % reader never
ran iat0 In fiction before.
frontal lobotomy. This drilling Of
holes in the skulls Of humans who
are mentally or neryOlsly disturb.
ed, With the objective Of relieving
them u their anxie,iea and desires
10 swing on chandeliers Is apparent
~ badly suspect b. many schools
Of thought on the mentally no. In
this novel the heroine, a certain
beautiful Judith West. who Is the
inmate Of = private mental hospi.
tai, Is menaeed with this frontal
lobotomy. This very original threat
Is q most exciting one 10 the read.
or. and the heroine herself is very
But. alas. this virile hew threat
Is not used 10 is best advantage
II has always the substance Of
shadow, when Il could very easily
have been a kissing. elawing. bit.
ms beast Of more than flesh and
blood. u emerges here and there
TO disturb the already mentally
heroine. but the reader
never breathes faster or shivers
because he thinks Il might get too
close 20 the beautiful Judity
A Skillful use # this exciting
new threat Of frontal lobotomy
might have kept the reader or his
reading toes right through the 2tg
pages Of this tale 81 life in a pri.
vate mental hospital But the auth.
or, after digging ~ ter exciting
menace. muiis her opportunities
Tor suspense
An interesting twist 20 this tale
Is that a psychiatrist Who hadn't
been properly psychoanalyHed In
his own emotional past. Is also a
patient In the sanatorinm. What's
more. be Is the hero. and the
staunCh II temporarily inootent
enemy Of frontal lobotimy Tie ex.
plains It's evils 90 the heroine and
points out . patient who his had
holes drilled In hls skull and has
been relieved Of his personality
along with his anxieues
The tale also dishes up a very
exaggerated variation oi the WICK.
ed sister in the fairy tale. This
Hazel West gets involved in The
frontal l0botomy business b. sepd.
ing her beautiful iRcareerated si,.
ter . series Of letters suggesting
that she consent TO the skull drill.
ING operation. But the letters re.
main unopened N Judihis bureau
drawer. keeping beth the reader
and the heroine unaware through
most Of the book that the wicked
sister IS on the side Of the loboto.
my.
Despite these Deficiencies Of tech.
nique. however. 'he novel IS an in.
tercsting one u Is always reveal.
ing experience TO get fietionslly
inside q mental hospital and ind
out what sort Of talk goes on In the