Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-03


Love Is Bridge" was pub
lished in 1858, two years after
his graduation from Harvard.
1t was an astonishingly good
FIRST novel, mature, alive with
real people.
"A Distant Drum" the young
authors second novel. shows.
1t seems to me. a distinct ad-
vance in his literary career.
1t reveals a greater mastery in
maneuvering the story. a surer
touch in the writing.
Good Writing
The story is relatively simple.
Not a great deal happens. and
vet somehow the elemental
things beneath the quiet mar
rative-the decisions faced.
the crises that confront the
main characters-are dra-
matte, their dilemmas, their
groupings for light deeply
moving. 1t is a long book, 500
pages, and yet it rarely seems
too long. Somehow. and this
is a mystery Of good writing,
the episodes as they flow
along, many trivial in them
selves, take on the absorbing
quality you feel in hearing
about the daily happenings of
persons who concern you very
] much.
Patrick KingSgrant. as we
meet him. is a junior at Har-
ward, majoring in English. 1t
is 1850. His father. Jacob,
a successful New York lawyer.
wants his only son to study
law, and Patrick halfheartedly
consents, though his interest
Is in writing. Patrick and his
younger sister Eileen and their
father spend their summers on
an island off the coast of Maine
which the family has owned
for generations. The mother
died long ago. Patrick has three
interesting roommates at Har-
ward, one a half-Navaho from
Arizona named David Tall
Man.
Boy Meets Girl
That summer Of his junior
year, in Maine, Patrick meets
Anne, and they seem to fall
in love. At least they are to-
gether constantly, and their
contact. in letters and occa-
sional m ee ingS. continues
through the next academic
year. AS a senior Patrick is
accepted IN an eagerly sought
after creative writing course
conducted by a famous author.
Patrick already has a novel
under way.
After his graduation from
Harvard College, Patrick tells
his father he can't enter the
law school: he feels compelled
to try writing. His father can
not understand, covets the boy
for his law firm. The two
break, and Patrick goes to New
York to make his own way. He
can find only a meager job.
but. working every evening, he
finishes his novel. Meanwhile
the Korean War is under way,
and Patrick is impelled to en-
list. He has a defect. an arm
injured at birth. but this has
not greatly handicapped him,
and he has been able to en-
gage in sports to a limited
extent. He conceals the injury
and starts basic training.
Soon he is in agony from one
shoulder. but he grits his teeth
and goes on. though he never
gets to Korea.
More in the Telling
Patrick and Anna have bro
ken of, for no reason either
can quite understand. but
after he enlists, they start
seeing each other again. What
will happen between them
eventually remains uncertain.
PatrickS novel is not eagerly
accepted by the first pub
Usher as in most novels about
writer's but goes the rounds,
meeting reflections, despite his
famous teachers recommended
ton.
This is a bare outline OF a
story that is more in the tell
ing than in the plot. Patrick
is a talented, often bewildered,
courageous, likable youth. The
author has not been afraid to
make him religious, a boy with
an unwavering faith who goes
TO church and says his prayer.
This is refreshing in an era
when most writer's allow only
their least sympathetic char
acters TO have any religion.
Jacob. the father, quite diff
ferent temperamentally, a
World War l combat veteran,
a Harvard athlete in his day,
is lonely man who adored his
wife, man of integrity who
does his best, and he. too, in
spires sympathy. There are
some OF the best scenes OF
army training l have read
anywhere. Mr.. Flood has the
rare gift Of being able TO con-
vey an incident, a mood or a
memory in spare phrases that
never are ornate or pretentious
and yet deeply involve the
reader. "A Distant Drum" is
thoughtful, artistic novel,
sure to be one Of the years
best.