TALES FOR THE TIMES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26290, 23 October 1946, Page 2

TALES FOR THE TIMES

Literature

NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES

A Flask for the Journey. By F. L. Green. Michael Joseph. 10s 6d. The Cruise of the Breadwinner, By H. E. Bates. Michael Joseph. ss. Words Have Wings. By Norman Berrow. Ward Lock. Muted Strings. By Marjorie Livingston. Andrew Dakers. 12s 6d. Hand Holding Bye. By Geva Rideal. Andrew Dakers. 9s 6d. Of Fire and Fury. By W. Lynch. Consolidated Press, Ltd. 8s 3d. These Small Glories. By Jon Cleary. Angus and Robertson. 6s. The Ten Commandments. Edited by Armin L. Robinson. Cassell. Reincarnation In Muted Strings, Marjorie Livingston makes an attempt to re-create the life of ancient Egypt, basing her story round the mysteriously sudden death of Rameses 111. She has added to the difficulty of her task by making the principal characters of the story reincarnations of those who figured in her earlier novel, “ Island Sonata,” in which the scene was legendary Atlantis. There also seems to be a prospect that they will reappear in yet another guise to work out their destinies. The story itself is interesting, and the romance is a moving one, but the action is heavily burdened with long descriptions of priestly ceremonies and formal oratory. A Few Murders Norman Berrow, New Zealand writer of thrillers, presents another tale of espionage and murder in Words Have Wings. Once again the scene is Esmerelda, the capital of Eulalie Island, and the characters include the large amateur detective Michael Ravel and his dainty wife, Fleur. The spy is a literary one who conveys his intelligence by radio talks on poetry. The book is written in an entertaining style, and should fine some favour. The Cruise of the Breadwinner, by H. E. Bates, is a short novel of only 63 pages, but Mr Bates is a better author than most of the people who write books, and the result is a dramatic story which gives an unusually vivid impression of reality The action takes place on the morning patrol of a small launch off the coast of England during the Battle- of Britain. Nothing is overdrawn and no element of pity or horror is spared. It, is a straight-forward clean-cut piece of descriptive writing which is worthy of the writer of "Fair Stands the Wind for France.” The Problem of Freedom

Jack Caspan found his true freedom while he’was in close confinement as a prisoner of war. Bernard Meddow and Jane Cellson, though free, were helpless prisoners, and one of them could only solve the problem by suicide. This contrast is behind F. L. Green’s novel A Flask for the Journey, but the experiment in form is hardly successful. Caspan s narrative is almost excellently done, and the other tale is moving enough, yet there is not a sufficiently strong link between the two parts of the book and the reader’s only impression may be one of futility.

A Jongleur in Touraine Geva Rideal handles her historical romance Hand Holding Rye well. The romantic aspect of the story is more prominent than the historical fact, but the period trappings are nicely grim. A wandering jongleur falls in by the roadside with a wayward lass of good family and deports himself much better than her highborn lover does. He finds his glory in dying for his lady. Fairs, tournaments, a crusade and a visit to the court of Louis the Good give spice to the entertainment. Action Stories Of Fire and Fury is a collection of some 30 short stories by an Australian author. The title is appropriate in that most of them have a war setting and they are concerned with fights and other excitements by land, sea and air in theatres of war ranging from the South Pacific to the North Atlantic. They are competently enough told and are of the type of story usually found in popular magazines. These Small Glories is another collection of short stories by an Australian writer and they are similarly concerned with war and the impact of war. They nave, however, more of the atmosphere of personal experience about them and the writing is of a better quality. Some of these stories have appeared m American magazines, the Bulletin and other Australian periodicals. Novels About Nazis

The idea of making the Ten Commandments the texts for a series of short novels dealing with the moral aspects of the Nazi code was a good one, and the task has been carried out by 10 of the best-known living authors. They are Thomas Mann, Rebecca West, Franz Werfel, John Erskine, Bruno Frank, Jules Romains, Andre Maurois, Sigrid Undset, Hendrick van Loon and Louis Bromfield. Although there is a certain propaganda purpose behind The Ten Commandments, the contributing authors are too skilled in their art to allow this to .become dominant. They have also dealt with the spirit of their texts rather than with the conventional meanings, and so have broadened the scope of the stories. One of the most notable of the collection is Thomas Mann’s interpretation of Moses, who gave the commandments to his people. It is one of those free reconstrucwons of biblical narratives such as he has written in “Joseph and His Brethren.” Rebecca West’s tale is one of the most movingly fold in the book. It can be said, however, that the stories are all of the high standard which is to be expected from such writers. They have taken their task seriously and have performed it well. It may be rather late in the day now for the full impact of the revelations in this book to be as impressive as they would have been three or four years ago. but this is still a collection well worthy of reading and study. D. G. B.