Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-17

attic and psychopathic char
acters in American history who
tried to kill Presidents and, In
three instances, succeeded.
Mixture Of Notionolities
Rene Fulop-Miller was born
In Caransebes, in the Car
pathian Mountains. then in
Hungary, now in Romanian
Transatlantic. He has written
many books, most of them nom
fiction, concerned with such d.
verse fields as medicine, politi-
cal science, psychology and the
theater. He now Lives at
Westport, Conn.,, and is teach
ing at Hunter College.
The author had first-hand
experience of war in World
War 1 on the Russian front.
But "The Night of Time" is
not a story of any particular
war. 1t is a story of war in
a classic, timeless sense. 1t
might be any war in modern
times before World War II.
Symbols Of All Wars
On its surface the novel
concerns some soldiers, per-
haps . few regiments, not .
large contingent, who are re-
quired to hold indefinitely q
hill, to pin down the enemy
in that region while more i'm
portant operations are going
on elsewhere. The story Is
told by q private named Adam
Ember. Ember means in Hun
sarian man." the publisher
points out. The whole MARIA
tive, in fact, is symbolic OF
mans struggle against HIM
self, Of the deliberate barriers
which he places in the path
of his life and its happiness.
of which war is the most
dreadful. But the allegory
Is not obscure or tortured, as
IN many modern novels on
various themes. Mr.. Fulop-
Miller's method is realistic, and
yet the characters and the
happenings are symbols Of all
the wars and all the men who
fought them since the begin
ming of organized living.
We start as Adam and his
comrades are marching toward
the front through day after
day of torrential rain and
mud so deep that men disap-
pear in it. Finally, cut of from
the others, he reaches another
contingent and with it makes
the fateful hill. There the
defenders stay, their supplies
dwindling, shut off from help
by the mud and the redtape
and indifference typical Of all
military channels. They en-
dure hunger and thirst in tor
tuous extremity and the con-,
slant danger Of sporadic fire
from the enemy.
A Sort Of Foreign Legion
Adam is not Of any specified
nationality. His comrades, as
varied in courage and DISPOSE
ton, good will and i'll will, as
any group of men. have names
denoting a melange of Ian
guages and countries. It is a
sort of foreign legion detached
In place and time. The enc
mics Is no country in particu-
lar-simply the enemy.
These pages are not all grim.
There is an ironical, sardonic
humor that wrings laughter
sometimes despite the horror
that infuses the plight Of the
dwindling defenders. The cap
tain Of the gravediggers' de-
tail, to which Adam is as
signed. is a masterpiece Of
characterization. He remarked
once: Adam, remember this.
wars exist for the sake Of
death. Whether they are won
or lost doesn't matter. What
10 always at stake is the grand
army under the ground"
The profane commandant,
whose cursing heartens. the
men so that they fight saw
agely, is a memorable portrait.
The scenes in the closing
chapter are tndescribable. Here
Adam, frozen, thirsty beyond
endurance. has a vision IN
which he sees marching by all
the men lost in battle since
the beginning of time, and
then the gentle Christ, ap-
pearing for the second time.
trying to bring peace. repudi-
ated and threatened by mod
ern scientists.
A Distinguished Novel
THE Night of Time" is one
OF the most distinguished
novels of recent years. 1t is
not like any Of the many war
books I've read. 1t brings its
own strange. original excoria-