TWO NEW NOVELS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 145, 20 June 1936, Page 28

TWO NEW NOVELS

Among the latest of John Murray's publications is a novel recommended by the Book Guild, "Set Them as a Banner," by John le Strange. The book is a remarkable one, and the most striking feature of the story is the deep insight and human sympathy. The reader shares the joys and sorrows of the sensitive boy Hugh, who is plunged into a tempestuous life among a family of cousins. His development from boyhood to manhood during times of peace and war is told in a clear and graphic manner. The book is a study of living types, and the reader feels he knows every character portrayed.

Of an entirely different type, but none the less interesting, is Austin Clarke's "The Singing Men at Cashel." (George Allen and Unwin, Ltd.) The author, who gained distinction with his book "The Bright Temptation," returns once more to the Celtic Romanesque era, but the theme of the new novel has a deeper implication. The romance is unusual; Gormlai is a beautiful and cultured girl, but she nourishes a secret revolt against a manmade world. She has a soul-shatter-ing experience following two unhappy marriages, and she is driven to explore the twilight of consciousness in which the principals of the spirit world make their appearance. Finally, however, she finds happiness with a husband of her own years. It is a strange book, but it has singular freshness and beauty.