Evening star., 1961-12-31
BOOKS IN REVIEW
ACritic Looks Over Books
The Year Put Before Him

OF the three hundred books
a week published in the
United States, some of those
of 1861 have not been re-
ported in this column or
even on this page. OF these,
some I have read, some
skipped through, one or two
looked at rather blankly, and
one-the "Pensees" of Pascal
(E. P. Dutton)-haS been
put aside to be returned to
at leasure, because I suspect
its translator, John Waring-
ton, to be a college classmate
OF '36, and. if so, an ex-
traordinarily able claSsicist.
Here are a number of these
books which seem wothy of
mention; before turning to
them, however, a word about
some that I have already re-
viewed this past year.
Two are much better books
than their reception by crit
les or by public indicates.
"Ferdydurke," the fantastic
novel by the Polish writer
Withhold Gombrowicz (Har-
court Brace & World, has
returned to mind frequently.
Its wry picture of modern
escapiSt man, thwarted but
not destroyed, is one of the
more original literary crea-
tions of the year. "The De-
MONS" the long novel of life
in Vienna by Heimito Won
Doderer (Alfred A. Knopf),
though 1t enjoyed favorable
initial critical attention, has
not been the subject of much
comment since publication,
yet it would be good news
that Knopf is issuing an ear
her novel to which THE De-
mons" is a sequel.
1t seems remarkable that
the New Testament of "The
New English Bible" Oxford
is still a whirlwind beSt-seller
although other and better
tranSlations are available.
Then there is "Tropic Of
Cancer" but how can one
write about it at the moment,
enthralled by the drama,
tragedy or farce, now on the
local stage, of which it is,
if not the hero, at least the
motivation? I will write more
about "Tropic of Cancer"
when it is clear whether it is
a time for laughter or weep
ing.
Why have I written moth
ing about LarOusse GastrOn-
unique" Grown Publishers Z?
That great book will levy my
tribute someday, but can
not criticise it until have
Savoured its fare. There are
only three meals a day { two,
really, for breakfast is no
time for an honest man to
sit in judgment) and La
rousse's cuisine is extensive.
I agree, in interim report,
that catsup is not a sauce
but a condiment esteemed
by the English, and I concur
that the flavor of cat is
midway between that of rab-
bit and hare.
The past year has seen
many good books on popular
science and mathematics.
"The Second Scientific Amer
lean Book of Mathematical
Puzzles and Diversions" by
the versatile Martin Gardner
Simon & Schuster) is one
of the most fascinating books
of its kind ever published,
good for a hundred hours of
entertainment. An amateur
of logic and reason is not
captivated by situations the
premises Of which are beyond
his mental attainment; what
he wants is to be shown that
a solution obvious to him is
in fact fallacious. He de-
lights in seeing common sense
made ridiculous. Mr.. Gardner
is the author of many other
books, of which "The An
nOtated Alice" is outStand-
ng-the definitive variorum
edition of Alice in Wonder
lane" it tells all.
"The Last Problem" by E.
T. Bell (Simon & Schuster)
is the story of the quest for
a proof of the seventeenth
century Pierre de Fermat's
final theorum, one that to-
day has been neither proved
nor disproved. The book
transcendS mathematics in
interest, showing the de-
velopment of a culture and
civilization through the ac-
ton and reaction of one
simple algebraic proposition
the surface meaning of which
any child can understand but
the implications of which are
incalculable. It can be read
with relish by those who,
like myself, have no back
ground in mathematics.
"Mathematics in the Max
ing" by Lancelot Hogben
Doubleday, though elab-
crate and handsomely illu-
strated, suffers from a prose
style that invariably stands
between meaning and reader.
Mr.. Hogben is the author of
two previous phenomenally
popular books, mathematics