THE BOOKSHELF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22226, 28 September 1935, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF

ROBUST SEA STORY TREASURE AND BROWN MAIDS Since the literary lions, abandoning mountains, are producing molehills, it is well to turn to the lesser lights, tho purveyors of adventure and mystery, for entertainment. These robust fellows do not turn a phrase over so delicately 011 the tongue, do not plunge so deep into their victim's subconsciousness. They aro content if their talo rushes headlong onward with a verve and breathlessnesi which carries the reader swaying with it, blinding him to improbabilities, handing out to him angels and devils instead of men, and making him content to accept them. " The Silver Ship," by Sin bad (Captain Dingle) is a story of the sea that carries one back to one's boyhood, to espouse the cause of a strong silent hero who always conies out on top in the end, and discomforts the bold, formidable villain, but only after all seemed lost. There is treasure in it, n goldenbrown maid from Persia and a submerged wreck. The story moves so quickly and rushingly that there is no time to analyse what seem like "hitches and inconsistencies in tho urgent haste to see what happens next. " Sinbad " takes a sailor's pride in his ships, and his ships are driven by sail, proud survivors against the onslaught cf steam, driven seventeen knots for days on end, which would make many a steamship blush, and many a storyteller too. At times there resounds tho dull heavy sound of knuckle on flesh, and men decide their quarrels in the blunt old way. This of course is all wrong; this is the old-fashioned romantic stuff, but at least it has got some muscle and red hlood in it, and does not vapour along in incoherent subconsciousness. " This Silver Ship." by Sinbad. (Stanley I'anl.) PROGRESS OF MACHINES AN ENGINEER'S EXPERIENCE

In "Machines and Men" Mr. W Watson tells the story of his engineering life. He began at tho early age of ten, when he worked after school for a local oilman. Later, when lie began to think seriously of earning his living, his ambition for the army or navy was thwarted by his small stature. There was nothing for it but engineering, and in 1596 he began life as a mechanic.

In the pa<,t 40 years the machine has advanced more quickly in engineering than in any other industry. It has advanced more rapidly than man's power to grapple with its consequences, which makes a fascinating and elusive problem for mankind. For this reason Mr. Watson's personal record has more than a human interest. In his time he worked for an amazing number of firms and experienced the complete scale of condition!! —good and bad. He writes warmly of the spacious days when a man made his own tools and taok his time over his work; of the craft pride of the middle-aged workmen and their bitter prejudice against the despised motor trade. He tells how the craftsmen themselves resented the improved conditions, and ignored as far as possible even those measures taken for i;heir safety. Passive resistance and sabotage were practised; but slowly and surely scientific management gained the day. Mr. Watson was a unionist, and became known as an agitator, which probably accounted for his varied experiences. He rarely worked for any length of time for the one firm, and could be relied upon to "pack up" if the manners of his superiors were not entirely to his liking. "Machines and Men." by W. Watson. (&eorgo Allen and Unwin.) UNUSUAL STORY VICTORY TO THE VANQUISHED

In " Victory to the Vanquished," Miss Barbara Gooklen shows herself a novelist of unusual insight. With extraordinary vividness she reveals the motives underlying the actions of a small group of apparently happy English people. . The action centres round Flavia, the charmingly immature wife of Mervyn Glvnne. "The husband, a spectacular figure in the legal world, supplies the tragic element to the story. Ho married I Flavia because he was deeply in love with her, but also because ho thought I she might possibly save him from himself. All the male Glynnes had drunk themselves to death and realising his hereditary weakness he felt that if anyone could save him Flavia could. Flavia knew nothing of his family and when after two years of marriage his fondnesrj for drink became wretchedly obvious she accepted their fate without resentment while still loving him deeply. Had she loved him less Glynno would have found life more bearable. As it was, realising the hopelessness of his condition, and dreading the inevitable degradation in store for Flavia, he found a way of escape for her. The situation is cleverly handled but a doubt arises as to whether a devoted young wife like Flavia would accept so passively, without discussion, her husband's weakness. A further doubt lifts its head over Clynne's final action. He has reason on his side but nature has ever been stronger than reason. "Victory to the Vanquished," by Barbara Goolden. (Chapman and Hall.)

THE AMATEUR STAGE AN INVALUABLE TEXTBOOK " Thcro is a serious danger, both in the amateur and professional theatre of the more experimental type, of magnifying the importance of the producer's work at the expense of the actin-' " This timely and sensible warning in the first chapter of " The Amateur Actor," by Frances Mackenzie, should commend it to all thoughtful readers who are abreast of the latest developments in stage work. It is indeed a most useful and practical book, which covers tho whole scope of amateur acting, from the point of view of the actor, the producer, the stage-manager and, not least, the audience. It defines tho relations between producer and stage-manager, and it would seem that the former poaches on thejattcr's preserves most shamefully in New Zealand. Some of the questions tackled are the danger of over-subtlety; the " all right on the night " actor; the need for technique but the value of reliance on instinct; prompting and tho evilj of typecasting. Tt. is to be feared that in the swing back from natural acting. Miss Mackenzie is in danger of reintroducing the technique of the third rate professional, than which thero is nothing more tedious. Better be dull naturally than dull by rule. There is snmo valuable* advice on speech and gesture and lastly no fewer than 3o exercises, not only in breathing and speaking, but exorcises for various moods and dramatic effects.

"The Amateur Actor," by Frances Mackenzie. (Nelson.)