THE BOOKSHELF
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
A STORY OF FINLAND " Fallen Asleep While Young," by F. E. Sillanpaa, is a novel that comes from Finland. Its very strangeness holds attraction for the reader, who will find it surprisingly interesting to move freely in unfamiliar surroundings amongpeople whose ways are in all but essentials amusingly different from English ways. Here for all to read is the history of the decline of an old family.
The Salmelus estate had belonged to the family beyond all memory. In the days of Kusta's father—Kusta is the hero of the book—the family strength • seemed at its greatest power; yet only ISO years after his father's death the family was to become extinct. In Kusta lay the seeds of weakness. Growing up in a state of careless, happy innocence, ho seemed unaware of the realities that surrounded him. An unfortunate affair with a kitchen maid and his parents' early death directed his feet to the inevitable path. He married the kitchen maid, became involved with her disreputable family, and gradually saw the family estate slip away from him. Death soon claimed his wife and two of his children, but left him Silja, the youngest and dearest of all. Upon her father's death Silja becomes a farm maid until at the age of 22 she dies of consumption. With the death of Silja the Salmelus family is no more. There is a rare distinction about the story that makes it memorable. In spite of the underlying sadness, the short life of Silja the farm girl had of exquisite beauty that g>ve to the book the tingle and freshness of an early morning. It is perhaps a good thing' to leave the beaten track of English novels occasionally and venture in strange countries. " Fallen Asleep While Youus." by F. E. Sillanpaa. Translated from the Finnish by Alexander Matson. (Putnam.)
THROUGH A NEGRO'S EYES
PROBLEM OF CIVILISATION
The problem of black versus white, or preferably black living side by side with white," is only just commencing. ]t is customary to assume that the black must be educated up to esteru civilisation, that he must always be moulded to look at the universe through the eyes of the white man. But must he? Is our universe so perfect that we can admit no other conception? Is the white man always right? In " Hawks Alighting " Mr. Kenneih Bradlcv attempts to look at Western civilisation through the eyes of an African negro.* Ihe first half of rhe book is devoted to a picture of the negro growing up among his own people, a noble warrior, one of the proud Mangini, a famous fighting tribe of Central Africa. To .them comes the envoy of the white race, dangling gifts and promises before the eyes of the king. It is agreed that a young negro, Chilaka, shall go away with him to learn the ways of the" whites, the cunning project being that he will grow discontented with his old life and return to spread discontent among the tribe, and thus admit without bloodshed the white traders. In the white man's country this''proud warrior automatically and indisputably becomes a servant, a member of the inferior race. '1 he superiority of drunken, worthless white men is taken for granted. Chilaka cannot resist it; he feels it in every glance, every action, and is convinced. Chilaka returns to his tribe by no means a captive to the gauds and blandishments of the white man's world, but lie advises his king to let in the white traders because they will come whether he will or not. They have a something which gives them assurance, a knowledge, a certainty of what they want, which will take them across all obstacles. The problem is interesting and its treatment by .Mr. Bradley excellent. " Hawks Alighting." by Kenneth Bradley. (Lovat Dickson.)
k MODERN DECADENT
MR. FAULKNER'S SHORT STORIES
Mr. William Faulkner's short stories * These Thirteen " have one quality in comrjion—they all ileal with decay. Soldiers deteriorating in peace, soldiers landsliding into a burial-ground with the corpses, a priest turned murderer, a woman of the streets heading to dissolution, sailors hinting at nameless horrors, an old maid who kept the dead body/ of her lover beside lier lor -U years —.Mr. Faulkner turns all experience into terms oi obliquity, disillusionment and hopelessness. His characters are all unusual, all tainted with rottenness; it follows that Ins themes are ail minor 'ones. Therein lies his cliiel lack a major theme. He writes in vivid, luminous style, ever and anon stinging the reader to startled attention. He has a mastery of technique. All thi tricks of the short story writer are at the author's-command telling tho story inside 'out, holding Tiie climax till the last possible moment, the use of enigmatic conversations slowly to unfold the plot, and the use of irrelevances so absurdly out of place as to keep the attention tickled, which yet create the desired atmosphere, and all through a cun-ningly-contrived larger-than-life etiect which seems to give life and virility to the words. It is, in fact, the old American trick of exaggeration no longer used for humorous effect, but to give snap and vim to tho text. An easy but dangerous practice, because it robs his characterisation of the life-giving power of truth, and may even prevent Mr. Faulkner from taking that high place to which his other gifts seem to point him. At times he overdoes the enigma, making the story tedious to follow and scarce worth the pains. His conversations are very brilliant, very telling, lint, wholly unreal. Tiifip Thirteen." by William Faulkner (Ch;ilt/'i and WinHus.) MAKERS OF ARMAMENTS SKI' IKS OF CHARGES In "The Bloody Traffic, 1 ' Mr. Fen nor Brock vtay levels against armament firms 8 series of charges. He accuses them inter alia of bribing Governments a<t<l officials, of forming international rings, ot paying representatives to rentier peace / and disarmament conferences abortive, of creating'war scares, and of supplying countries hostile to their own. In including in his general condemnation certain chemical ami aircraft manufacturing (inns, the author overlooks that these have a large and useful output f|iiite apart from war. Like liio.'t. partisans his manner is irritating! v / aggressive. Nevertheless the problem he writes about is an urgent and difficult one of which 110 adequate solution seems to be in sight. Mr. Brock way leans toward the nationalisation of arms production, but lie says he thinks the real solution lies in the overt ItVow of the present economic system, which is, of course, no solution at all. Iho Bloody Traffic," by Fenner Brock- **>'. iColhincz.)
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21640, 4 November 1933, Page 9 (Supplement)
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1,098THE BOOKSHELF New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21640, 4 November 1933, Page 9 (Supplement)
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