GERMAN WAR STORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20288, 22 June 1929, Page 15

GERMAN WAR STORY.

BAN BY PUBLIC LIBRARY,

OBJECTION TO CRUDENESS.

" NOT SUITABLE PUBLICATION."

Tho question as to how openly-a spade can, with decency, be called'a 6pade has been answered as far as the Auckland Public Library is concerned by tho banning of the latest addition to war fiction, "All Quiet on tho Western Front," by tho German author, Erich Maria Remarque. Tho book is ono of the most discussed novels produced this year, and it has been eulogised as emphatically as it has been condemned. "Tho book has been banned because of its crudeness and on account of the objectionable handling of certain passages," said tho librarian, Mr. J. Barr, yesterday. "The German outlook may be somewhat diSerent, but it is considered that it was not a suitable publication for our shelves," he added. "Now that attention has been drawn to the prohibition an interest in some cases undesirable has been aroused. Literary Merit the First Factor. "Our first consideration in tho selection of books is literary merit. It occupies much of our time ferreting out reviews from recognised literary journals and reading criticisms. Tho staff also cooperates in the reading of new books. It

is not a capricious system, and undesirable books reach our shelves." Mr. Barr said that from 1000 to 1500 books wel'e passed in to tho lending library each year. A novel need not be offensive to earn exclusion. "Trash" was rejected simply because it failed to measure up to literary standards. The widely-discussed German novel, Jew Suss, had been passed. It was not altogether free from a certain grossness, but it had undoubted literary quality and a fine historical vein. Tho novel "Simon Called Peter" had not reached the library shelves, and tho "Tarzan" series of stories had been rejected as "trash." Mr. Barr said that the point of view of a few decades ago could not be applied to-day. Books which were now approved for library shelves would not liavo qualified under old standards. Even when a liberal view was taken it was impossible to endorse everything that was •published. Reviews in England. Miss E. Melville, chairman of the Library Committee, stated it was not possible to pass all fiction through the hands of tho committee. Reliance had to be placed on the good taste of the librarian. Among the denunciations of the book is tho following review by the well-known English publication, "The Publishers' Circular and Booksellers' Record." "We have read the English translation of E. M. Remarque's 'All Quiet on the Western Front,' and we are very disappointed with it. Some parts aie quite good—especially tho descriptive passages—but the high hopes with which we began the story were quickly dispelled. Our soldiers 'swore horribly in Flanders' in 1914-18, and had good reason to do so, and doubtless the German was not far behind in this respect, but we regret the quite unnecessary use of certain vulgar words which may have been used by the German soldiers, but which are usually considered unfit to appear in print. Certain situations, also, are described in a manner that can only be called objectionable. We think the crudity of the language will disgust the average English reader." " A Wonderful Portrait." The review of the Times, London, struck a different note. It stated in part: "The English reader must be prepared for what he may dub coarseness or frankness, according to temperament, of a type that he will not find in English novels. We do not mean merely insistence upon the realities of war —for a war novel would not be of much value without that—but a constant preoccupation with bodily functions. There is reiterated complaint of lack of food, of dysentery caused by starvation, of paper bandages for the binding of wounds, of misery caused •by an increasing shortage of every necessity for the soldier s comfort and sustenance" It is a wonderful portrait, built up little by little, without a superlative. There emerges the ideal soldier —brave, steady, crafty, never excited, but never off his guard. "We have had grim English war novels in which the wine of victory is represented as testing bitter enough; but it is doubtful if we shall ever have one with a note so hopeless as that of the concluding chapters. That wine may to many have taste'd bitter, but it could not have been so bitter as this vinegar of defeat."

Auckland booksellers have already experienced a brisk demand for the book. One firm sold a quota of 50 copies immediately they were displayed and over 200 bookings have been received. Another city shop has orders for nearly 150 copies.