Among The New Novels

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 10 (Supplement)

Among The New Novels

THOUGH the title of "The i- Dark Room" (Macmillan), written by JR. K. Narayan, is suggestive of .; the sensational, it is only sensational in part. In the main it is a simple, vividly-told tale of an Indian middleclass family, the kind of tale that might be told of many a middle-class family among ourselves. Its interest lies in the light it throws on the' Westernisation of Indian family life and the unusual flavour that characterises it. The family consists of a husband and wife and three young The husband is the manager of aiu insurance company, a selfmade man, proud,. headstrong and variable of-temper. His . wife is not only a docile and devoted.- spouse, hovering a good deal of her time between him and the cook,'.but an excellent housekeeper and a*siio less excellent mother. t She has two great women friends, neither of whom likes the other. It is to the eider of the two that she goes for counsel whenever she is seriously worried; and that-is'pretty often, .for she has a difficult husband to please. But her greatest worry conies when she learns that he: has entangled himself with another woman, and, but for the intervention of a village locksmith, umbrellarepairer and blacksmith (with burglary as a side occupation), it would have developed into tragedy. It is this part of the story, that forms its climax, and, when we close the book, it is in the belief that days of more even happiness are in store for Savitri. :■ + + + + : ' . ?'.T-:P'W7*OWN " (Duckworth), i-u by Edward l Hibbitt, is described by its author as "the story a , working-class.: provincial." - ' :' s 'he sto'ry of: the -life .of young Albert Palmer,utKtirn';. .of poor patents, and his physical,'social and intellectual. development. After chequered

5 and unhappy schooldays, Albert has j adventures of different kinds, including a business failure. His business ups „ and downs and his friendships and love x affairs with several women, give Mr. Hibbitt the opportunity to allow his hero's philosophy of life to evolve delibj. crately and logically, while his readers 7 watch. Unfortunately for the author, , one can too easily see the wheels going P round in the machinery of his novel. It is all too obvious, and Mr. Hibbitt's r explanatory passages, detailing the' j changes in 'his hero's philosophy and the reasons for them, would not be necessary if a little subtlety had been .used in the narrative. Mr. Hibbitt has thought out the scheme of his novel carefully, and deserves credit for setting it in a suitable scene, but has : ~ not been able to write subtly enough . to make the completed work a success. When Million-a-Ycar Mike Van Dyke j was thrown out of a New York night club on his twenty-fifth birthday a course of events started which led to f the young millionaire taking stock of s himself. President, in name only, of "a large chain of stores, he clashed with. J Betsy Ross Beal, a girl business- j . executive in his own firm, who preached J him an effective sermon on the text of his own worthlessness. In "Playboy" { (Robert Hale) Mr. Richard Connell tells f how Mike Van Dyke set to work to [ regain his self-respect, and gained more in .doing it. Mr. Connell writes of a p curious world, wliere it is apparently an every-day occurrence for barristers to 1 persuade magistrates "behind the scenes E to reverse their decisio*-, for princesses c to marry professional wrestlers and for butlers to burst into verse. Mike's * butler has obviously made up his mind c to emulate the inimitable Jeeves, but c does not prove too successful at it. The tale is full of improbabilities and * melodramatic situations, but it moves n with some sort of vitality. c

AN excellent translation of Louise de Vilmorin's pleasing and amusing fantasy, "The Last of the Villavides," has been published iby Chatto and Windus. The Duke and Duchess of Villavide arc an elderly, childless couple. It is a great sorrow to them that their ancient line will come to an end with their demise. The Duke, however, hits on an expedient. He carves an armchair which he stuffs with his wife's liair-combings, and makes it his heir. He then sets about in. search of a wife for it, and finds her in a young lady of aristocratic birth. She duly takes the chair fon her spouse. After a time she abandons the chair, and mates herself in the conventional way, whereupon the chair destroys itself by spontaneous combustion. It is a story of French aristocratic life, cleverly worked out, and perfect of its kind. + + +. +

Books In Local Demand

The following list of books in demand at the Auckland Public Libraries is supplied by the chief librarian:— FICTION. Henri Quatre—By Helnrlcli Mann. The Killer—By Carolyn Wells. Doctor Allen, G. P.—By Ray Maplesden. Capricornia—By Xavler Herbert. Off With fler Head—By G. D. H. and M. Cole. Rebecca —By Daphne Du Maurier. Step in the Dark—By Ethel.Lina White. Royal Escape—By Georgette Heyer. Dark Journey—By Sydney Horler. Straws in Amber—By Naomi Jacob. NON-FICTION. Marvels of the East—By Richard Halliburton. Winifred Holtby As I Knew Her—By Evelyne White. Exploring With the Microscope—By Raymond F. Yates. . Good-bye, Mr. Chips—A play by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham. How to Ride Your Hobby—By A. F. Collins. Children of Tane —By Mona Gordon. Old English Customs and Ceremonies^ By F. J. Drake-Carn el I. • How to Make Electric Toys—By 'Raymond F. Yates. - Making a Photograph—By Ansel Adams. Dress Design—By Talbot Hughes.