FROM THE FRENCH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 4 (Supplement)

FROM THE FRENCH

MODERN " PILGRIM'S PROGRESS " "Salavin," by Georges Buhamel, is a. French classic which appeared originally in four, full-length novels. These arc now published together in an English translation.

This modern "Pilgrim's Progress" is a finely-drawn characterisation of the intense inner life of an introvert continually seeking to aVhieve a saintly life. There is a mass of morbid detail, with, for many readers, too few really striking crystallisations of thought, such as "we are not responsible for our thoughts in themselves, but only for the part they play in controlling the tilings we do." It has. been stated that "the gentle nobility of Salavin has made him one of the most beloved characters in modern French fiction." For those to whom the book will appeal there is a wealth of reading in the volume. "Salavin," by Georges Duhamel (Dent). THE JOURNEY OUT

An entertaining story about a voyage to New Zealand on a cargo vessel is to be found in Miss Anna 1). Whyte's new novel, "Lights are Bright." Although it is not until tho few final chapters that New Zealand is reached, these are of particular interest to people living in the Dominion, chiefly because of the penetrating analysis Miss Whyto has made of its scenery, people and customs.

The story, in the main, tells of life during the voyage, and of the spuriousness of ship life, which has so many cracked notes and false beats. To Alan Bray, however, shipboard life brings something very wonderful, and although he loses it at Suva —and breaks his arm in doing so—he regains it in New Zealand, when the story reaches a happy and satisfying conclusion. "Lights are Bright," by Anna D. Whyte. (The Hogarth Press.) CHILDHOOD VERSES "Tints O'Turqtioise," a slim volume of verses by Marion Hogg, a thirteen-year-old New Zealander, shows a pleasing fluency of style. "The Old Apple Tree" gives us a vivid little glimpse of childhood, while "My Alma Mater" and "Rainbow Gold" reveal rather deeper thought and meaning. A very commendable work for one so

young. "Tints O'Turquoise," by Marion Ilogi? (13 yenr.s).