THE BOOKSHELF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21781, 21 April 1934, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF

SCHOOLS AND TRADITIONS DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW There has been much discussion in English newspapers concerning the public schools of the Old Country. A doubt has arisen in some minds whether the old traditions which have been accepted for generations have really all the virtues that have always been claimed for them. In particular, " the bloods " have come in for a bad time. There is a growing feeling that the bullying and brutality which lias been tacitly overlooked is not for the good of the individual or the race. Judging from public school stories that have appeared there is a wide distinction between conditions in the schools of Britain and those of New Zealand. The bullying and oppression of the weak, which seems to be a frequent occurrence in Britain, have little place in New Zealand. While these practices may strengthen the character of the victim where they do not cripple him, they can have nothing but a debasing effect on their perpetrators. " Prayer for the Living," by Mr. Bruce Marshall, represents a gross instance of bullying as a traditional occurrence. It is true that a boy is expelled for it, but the sentence is condemned by boys and masters alike, and the boy often leaves in a burst of popidarity and sympathy. The book depicts public school life from a new psychological angle, which is not easy to define. In the preface Mr. Marshall affirms his belief in the Christian religion, but he grows satirical at the perfunctory way in which he asserts it is practised at the public schools, and at the little real meaning that attaches to its rites. He ceases a bitter burst of caricature among the masters to be equally amusing at the expense of the boys. His pen is barbed with ridicule, but is able to light up the,page with a choice simile. A cyclist peddling away down a dusty road, he says, reminds him of a fuse working backward, and the manoeuvres of the Junior Officers' Training Corps arouse him to a burst of hilarity. The real message of the book is an appeal against war, although war is never actually envisaged. The time is 1915, and there is the constant silent implication that the efforts of masters and boys alike are being directed to what is represented as the useless task of providing recruits. The appearance of the previous year's captain of the school with a leg shot off above the knee is introduced to lend force to the argument. It is a strange school story, which leaves one with mingled feelings. " Prayer for the Living," by Bruce Marshall. (Gollancz.)

MODERN FAIRY TALE POET AND HIS DREAMS ' Mr. Norman Walker's latest novel, " The Travelling Companion," has all the characteristics of its hero. It is charming, original, but entirely ineffectual. An old man, recovering from a serious illness, receives a letter from the son of a woman he had once loved. Old memories take possession of him. This lad's mother was the great love of his life, so he needs must sit under the trees each day and relive that time o\er again. Mis story is unfolded to the reader. It is told from a slightly unusual angle which adds to its interest, and carries a pleasant mixture of philosophy, whimsy, and common sense. A young poet named Louis Mowbray fell in love with a rich man's daughter. Besides being rich she was very beautiful and seemed to prefer him to more eligible suitors, so they were married, and owing to the girl's riches lived unhappily ever afterwards. In due course Louis 'fell in love with another man's wife and took up his poetry again. His second love inspired him greatly, and in consequence there came the usual clash with Louis' nature. He could not serve two mistresses. When his muse flourished ho denied his love, when his muse hung her head ho was delighted to play at love. His new love was a woman of personality, and before long she realised the weakness of Louis' feeling for her, and in consequence put an ocean between them. Louis did very well with a broken heart and soon became an outstanding playwright. So the years pass until the reader meets Louis dreaming under the trees. The story has freshness and charm, but it is thin and disappointing. All the world loves a lover, but an ineffectual one makes poor reading. It is disconcerting for the reader to discover himself out of sympathy with the hero- " The Travelling Companion," by Norman Walker. (Longmans.;

FIVE SHORT STORIES IIADCLYFFE HALL'S LATEST Radclvffe Hall's new book, containing five short stories, is disappointing. She seems in some unaccountable way to have lost touch with life. Her technique is excellent, her angle of approach very individual, and yet eacli story fails to communicate its reality to the reader. The first, which is the name tale in the book, is the most successful. " Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself," is the story of a shy, masculine type of girl, who found difficulty in finding her place in the village or family life. The war broke out and she foinul happiness in war work. She was in charge of an ambulance unit behind the front line, and her bravery and self control won the admiration and envy of many. When the war ended her work was finished, and there was nothing left to do but vegetate in the country with a family who had not the smallest admiration for her. She " finds" herself eventually on some half recollected island where she suddenly remembers a former primitive life. Next morning her body is found. She has died at the mouth of a cave that held the most precious memories of another existence. Another story, " Upon the Mountains," makes an equal demand on the credulity of tlie reader. It tells of the unusual situation of two brothers who are devoted to each other. One marries, which creates a situation. The wife and brother hate each other. The husband loves both and refuses to be parted from cither. An extraordinary pact is made. Should the husband die ho swears to make some sign to the one who loves him most. He dies and the picture of the wife and brother living together in hatred awaiting the sign is most unconvincing. The three remaining stories, although not extraordinary in any way, are unsatisfactory. Miss Hall's early work was of great promise; the short story perhaps is not her metier; it is to be hoped that in her next book she will return toher ( old form. "Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself," by TfadclySe Hall. (Heinemann.)