Evening star., 1955-07-10

experience. since 1t Is neces-
sarily and completely con-
cerned with that separate di.
mension' in which men live
when they are soldiers.
If you can settle into this
dimension and orient your
self to the layer which was the
British wartime army, you are
in for some rare entertain
ment. Not that the story is
designed primarily to amuse.
There is no effort to discount
the seriousness Of the war,
though Mr.. Waugh has not
dwelt on its horrors-cer-
tainly others have done that
and he is more immersed In
the army than in the war.
After all, soldiers have to live
with the army "a hours a way.
while the drama of battle may
be sporadic.
Delicious Satire
Mr.. Waugh. on the other
hand, is unable to resist the
satirical impulse when 1t Is
provoked, for which I, for one.
am grateful. There are some
delicious touches in these
glimpses Of the ponderous
working Of q military machine.
There is one stunning satire
Of q commando raid. The Of
ficer known as Trimmer. o
former hairdresser, who. when
sent to Scotland, takes the
name Of McTavish, figuring it
will be popular. is ordered to
lead q six-man raid on a cham
mel island. The submarine.
slightly confused. lands the
little force on the mainland Of
France, where a farmers wife
routs "McTavish" with a shot
gun. But Trimmer is accom-
panied by q public relations
officer who is determined to
exploit the commandos. His
version results in a decoration
for Trimmer.
Crouchback Carries On
Mr.. Waugh's first war book.
"Men At Arms" described
Crouchback's transfer from
civil life, at the start of the
war, the training that brought
him q commission. and his
first action in the Middle East.
He was posted to a proud, an
cient regiment called the Hal
berdiers. He got into trouble
through an episode which was
not altogether his fault and
was transferred back to Eng
land.
"Oficers and Gentlemen"
takes up from there. In Lon
don during the blitz Crouch
back is sent to q commando
outfit. Mr.. Waugh was a COM
mando officer and saw some
hazardous service, but he has
not turned Crouchback and
his raiders into heroes. Their
first action is on Crete, where
they are abandoned to fight
as a forlorn rearguard, pro-
tecting the troops who are
evacuating the island, with or
ders to surrender when the
others are safely away.
Mr.. Waugh explains that
these two books will complete
one story. IF I keep my
faculties" he adds, II hope to
follow the fortunes Of the
characters through the whole
Of their war. but these first
two books constitute a whole. q"
Military Shorthand
There is in "Officers and
Gentlemen" much military
shorthand, a good deal OF
which is not explained. and
there are peculiarities Of the
British service which may re-
main mysteries to many
American readers. Crouch
backs state of mind, which
was low, owing to a broken
marriage and other factors.
when he entered the service,
has to be guessed at from
things he says. for it is not
often explored.
In spite of these defects, If
they are defects. "Officers and
Gentlemen" is . memorable
picture of how the British
Army looked, not only to
Crouchback, but to several
other junior officers.
An AIIegory
For his second novel, "In a
Farther Country" Random
House: $3), William Goyen
has written an allegory, a sort
of modern Canterbury Tales
in which several character,
tell their stories.
The ostenSible scene-the
scene really is in the mind and
spirit Of a young woman--is q
mean building on West
Twenty-third street in New
York. There one MacDougal
artisan in stone and plaster o1
paris. turns out objects Of art
to sell In the store he calls
"Artifices Of Spain" When
Marietta MCGEE Chavez. Q
Texan, half American. hall
Spanish. Wanders In. he puts