THE BOOKSHELF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20402, 2 November 1929, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF.

j A WORK OF ART. j SOME PLEASANT PEOPLE. j " Nicky, Sob of Egg," by Gerald Bn35 isSi. cars be rso&Janaeod s*-jth otnSdtiKC ] a£ cue of.. Ihi best arsd ssost deiigb'.fai f LccLs of recent vears. Most- osalstasdiEg j "Vfdrk in fiction is to be based oe j adt&al experience, events wisKli Lit ve ! feippseed to ti« writer hissself, or in fcs • ixaa&diaie entirerascal. So real as.d ©cssl viodog are Mr. Bulleii's characters, Übsl { jj is protasis ib-st iter are drawn largely ; fjc'23 life. He Las n&i tsads the dangerous J isiilake -of chcodng too Isrge a caaT,»s; . instead L» hs.s kepi tfc? subject we3l ! - *ishin Lis pc-Trers, £]wajs remaining | master of it, ana. has prefaced a real • work of ir.

i The method of making a plot by sisspiy - felsoviaz the ordinary events of a scan's i life fsea birth oswards is no oe* ease. lis Morgoa has dose is; Bennett and : Compton Mackenzie have done si; Weils : has done it sevpraj !:m«. It is dwtUiol ■ if any of tb?ni have achieved a .greater : artistic success than has G««!d Eulleit, M«wrer. fee Las used bat fcaSf tie space ;of the otbei*. He is cot of that class of • writer who kiieris that all lb« Inili : »38st be tokL Pari of Lis art lies in i selection, js attaining Ms wli tritb ;• ««»mr cf word.*. Iz/ikisj;. baek at the fcost ir&aj lis end owe is cMisdoos'tbal she ;an;e tbisgs have been to*d whkh . Q'A'fil in one's o*s memory, r;oi always i ia*p»t3Bt things. tut tfew which for ; some reason stand o- r ;t, dor.'a the years, ; with a significance of their ewa. ? If the purpose of art is to quicken Ibe j imagination, " Nicky, Son of Egg " can be j'js'*v termed a work of art, for time and again it causes She imagination to leap in applause of its discernment, ct in anticipator, of its revelation of. (he } mysteries o* life. It is a book abont i pleasant peop!.;, and i.ecause there ara £o J many pleasant, people J;s tie world it | seems only fa:r that they thoaid eoase--1 times get into ferieus literature. ' It is ; diSkiM to decide which part of Nicky's short life is dealt with. . The schoolI i»oy period sets a new standard in school ? literature; the early manhood, when he > first goes away from home, woaid be hard j to improve apon. Cat perhaps the scenes ( which will live longest are those between j Nicky and his father, whose life Is wrapj pH up in this child of his advanced age. I Egg is one of the moss delightful | characters in fiction, vri'.h his jealous care i 5:5s willing self-sacrifice. his whimsical I hamoor, and his fresh eager spirit, Ihe » scene where Nicky is trying to tell him j about a sweetheart, whom the old man ' has already divined, is well-nigh perfect. « The relationship between father and son, j so full of human understanding, mutual | consideration and love, yet not ovcr- | sentimentalised, is a thing to rejoice over. To add to the pleasure which I the book brings is tire picture of the ! rich abundant countryside, ■which plows j throogh the pages.

It may be thai " Nicky, Son of Egg," is not sufficiently ambitious in purpose or design to l« called a sreat book; in its ov,ii sphere it represents first-class work, v.hich shosid make a. wide appeal " Jiick-. Son of Kss." by Gerald 80lScti. (HeixttifiasrJ. RICHARD CROMWELL. STORY OF A FAILURE. How many misfits there roust be in the world—men and women who bold the Heeds of eaccess in one occupation, wasting their time and energies, or else yielding to despair, in futile efforts to make good in another! When the light of greatness is not cast upon tbem, such people, though looked upon as failures, often serve a very useful purpose in their smaller spheres, but when the ebb and flow of events has cast them at the head of a nation their case is indeed unenviable.

I Mr. A. T. Sheppard in " Queen Dick," i tells of such a case, Richard Cromwell, ! the kindly, easy-going sod of the j dynamic " Xol!," a man who would 1 have made an ideal coqntry squire, tendj itjg bis live stock, loved by his tenants, I v.*ho was utterly unfitted to rule a natior ] as the chosen "of the people against the ! royal tradition. Mr. Sheppard is more ! attracted by failure than by He [gives a careful, just - picture of Oliver, ' a. necessarv bulwark on which to build '•his story' but it 4 is the failures, ' " Tumbledown Dick," and Charles L, j especially the latter, who draw forth his | imagination and have his sympathy, j Mr. Sheppard has already attracted atj teijtiion to his literary gifts in Brave j Earth," "and "Here Comes an Old j Sailor." Though " Qneen Dick * shows the . sarno skilful writing, it lacks the j ..-onl'mous interest of a successful story. ! For the thread which binds his story ; together Mr. Sheppard relies_ largely on the unfolding pageant of history, the curiosity and interest in real events and persons. Without this magnet the story would be unreadable, and it belongs more prop'erlv to the category of historical biography ',han of fiction. : " Queen' Dick," by A. T. Sheppard. tHo elder and Stougbton).

A NOBEL PRIZEWINNER. IMPULSIVE GIRL'S PRIDE. There is something aust<ffe about the fiction of cold countries, mingled, however, with an everyday,' domestic- intimacy, foreign to the English mind. On taking up rach a hook as Selma LagerloFs " Charlotte Lov.enskold," the reader is temporarily astray. Jf he persists for a few chapters the pattern of the book comes through, and bis difficulties are eude>il. Ah befits a winner of the Kobe! Prize for literature. Selma. Lagerlof, writes with distinction. Her style, though simple arid straightforward in language, is full of subtleties. She holds her characters up to mocker,', then bathes them in her ready | sympathy. She makes a little tour de ! force of .1 humourous recital at the expense ot her heroine, who ere the laughter has died down, :'s taken right info the render's he-art. The heroine is a high-spiriterl, impulsive girl, proud to a fault, yet generous of heart. She is beloved by* two men; one, an ascetic young clergyman, is too much of a dry stick to win the reader's sympathy. The other, a wealthy manufacturer, loves almost more unselfishly than can be credited. Between the two, the girl's pride makes her vacillate in a manner that tries the patience, though her high-handed pranks and unconventionslity keep the reader constantly diverted. The victor is well concealed until the last page. The nctnal story leaves something to be desired, but the swift changes of mood, which the author keeps easily at her command, bind the reader's attention, ever hostage to ber art a'nc! purpose. " Charlotte Lowenskold," by Selma Laeerlof. (Laurie).