RECENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26242, 28 August 1946, Page 2

RECENT FICTION

A MIXED BAG Private Angelo. 'By Eric Linklater Jonathan Cape. 9s 6d. v Comrade Forest. By Michael Leigh. Eyre and Spottiswoode. 10s 6d. The Moonlight. By Joyce Cary. Michael Joseph 10s 6d. Anna Collett. By Barbara Lucas. Eyre and Spottiswoode. 9s. The Roaring Nineties. By Katherine Susannah Prichard. Jonathan Cape. 11s 6d. Italian Comedy Private Angelo may not be Eric Linklater’s best novel, but it is good Linklater, and that is a sufficient recommendation. Mr Linklater was attached to the Eighth Army in Italy, and so had a first-hand knowledge of some of the unusual features of that campaign. He has woven his knowledge into a typical fantasy. Private Angelo is an Italian who does not possess the “gift of courage,” but has a native opportunism which stands him in good stead. By turns a fugitive, a prisoner and a soldier in the ranks of the Italian, German and British Armies, his adventures are always lively and entertaining. Such incidents as the bombing of Cassino and the advance from Anzio to Rome make a good background for picaresque romance. There is also that flavour of light satire and amoral moralising which is the author's characteristic. The denouement is as diverting as it is unusual. Soviet Guerrillas

Guerrilla warfare is perhaps the grimmest, most ruthless form Of conflict. and during the last war the men and women of Soviet Russia gave the Germans convincing demonstrations of how well they could adapt themselves to it. Comrade Forest, therefore, is not a comfortable tale for the fireside, but it is a well-told and a sincere description of the life of a small band of patriots operating in enemy-held territory, The author appears to be fully acquainted with the people and the scenes he writes about, and thus he is able to give his story the factual atmosphere which is necessary •to justify the violence and cruelty thht it contains.

Tangled Tale While there is much clever characterisation and shrewd insight in The Moonlight, Mr Cary has evolved such a confused manner of narration that the book loses much of the pleasure it should have given to the reader. The main characters are two elderly sisters and their young “ niece.” In the opening chapters the author reveals what they are, and then by a series of “ flash-backs ” he shows how they have become what they are. Eventually he carries his narrative sufficiently forward to show how they meet their fates. The relationship between the three women is' brilliantly treated, as is the description of the Victorian household, but on the whole the book makes too many demands on the reader’s patience. Romance in War-time

The author of Anna Collett apknowledges her humble indebtedness to Tolstoy for the idea of her plot, but even without this admission the reader would recall the fatal love of Anna Karenina, and not only because of the tragedy which befalls the heroine. Comparisons are, however, best avoided and the novel should be judged simply as a tale of the love of the wife of an English farmer for an Italian prisoner of war working on the farm. It is a study of a human problem which court records show had to be faced more than once in war-time England. The character of Anna receives the most careful attention and a likely and likeable heroine is created. The placid, unimaginative husband is also sympathetically treated, but the Italian Angelo is somehow less credible than his fellow prisoners, despite his importance in the tale. The development of the unhappy romance is convincing and is told with an understanding of emotional reactions. Coolgardie Gold

Much careful research and first-hand knowledge has gone into the writing of The Roaring Nineties, by Katherine Susannah Prichard. It is a detailed picture of life on the West Australian goldfields—but it is too detailed and too much a picture, or rather a panorama, and too little of a tale. If the narrative had been stronger and more interesting in itself the author might well have produced by far the best book she has written, for the material is excellently treated. The vigorous life of the goldfields, the hardships, the feverish excitement and the bitter dis illusionment, and the rough, rowdy and picturesque “ characters ” of the time —all are here. The author states in a foreword that the story grew from the reminiscences of two people. This basis of real experience is evident, but it is at once the strength and weakness of the book. If Miss Prichard had made less scrupulous use of her material, she would have produced a more readable story. As it is, there is the makings of a first-rate film scenario here. D. G. B.