BOOK OF THE WEEK

Taranaki Daily News, 11 May 1935, Page 13 (Supplement)

BOOK OF THE WEEK

DR. CRONIN’S NEW NOVEL

"The Stars Look Down,” by A. J. Cronin. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London. A. J. Fyfe Ltd., New Plymouth.

Dr. Cronin goes from strength to strength. His “Hatter’s Castle,” that mordant, brilliant sympathetic and searching analysis of motives and the clash of wills, gave promise of a new force in English letters, a promise “The Stars Look Down” makes more abundant. As realistic as Zola; as definite. as Hardy in combining cause and consequence from generation to generation; with the medical man’s sympathy and' understanding of the influence of body over mind and conduct; with flaming indignation for the man-made circumstances that give so little chance to the under-dog, yet with a concern for the truth that necessitates admission that to help the lowly is not always easy; Dr. Cronin tells a bleak story of the coalmining district “Sleescale” in north-east-ern England. It is a tribute to his skill that but of sombre surroundings he has created a record that pulsates with life, and is attractive by its very forcefulThe canvas is almost crowded with figures. Out of them all, and there is not. one character that does repay observance, the lives of Joe Gowlan and David Fenwick, are most carefully recorded. There are many others: Richard Barras, owner of Neptune Colliery, Arthur, Hilda and Grace his son and daughters, Jenny, David Fenwicks wife Martha, his mother, Laura, the wife of Joe Fenwick’s employer, all play their parts in this drama of fierce industrial strife. , „ , The story opens with the collapse of a strike at the Neptune colliery. _ The struggle ends with some minor noting and David Fenwick’s father, ■Robert, who has been a leader of the strikers, is unjustly accused of responsibility for the looting that occurred and is sent to gaol. David, at his father’s instigation, has been studying and wins a scholarship that takes him out of the coal pit. He is filled with indignation at the conditions 'forced upon the miners and though he' must accept //st as teacher in the meantime js determined to do something in the political world for the benefit of his fellows. He fall? in love with Jenny, the discarded mistress of Joe /Gowlan, they marry and David obtains, through the influence of Richard Barras, the mine owner he despises, a position in.a local school. The flooding of the Neptun. which causes many deaths, the inquiry that followed, and the outbreak of war broke up David’s career as a teacher. His marriage to Jenny was a drag upon David’s progress. She is unfaithful to him, but it is not until after the war that; he learns that Jenny’s baby, who died while David was at the front, was not his child. Jenny was to exercise a maleficent. influence upon David to the end of her days. She left him. to be- ( come anyone’s mistress, and their reunion when David seemed to have gained his opportunity was a painful experience. '-../■- / David became? a servant of a Labour organisation, and was elected to the local town council where his exposures increased his He> .is elected to Parliament, largely on .the question of- the-nationalisation of mines, but lives tong enough to be disillusioned when- a Labour- Government,- in h/ opinion, goes back on its pledged wot . There are some • interesting. side-lignts upon the Labour Government and its supporters. The= National-Government is formed and David loses his seat to Joe Gowlan .and..finds, himself ...a., working miner once more. - . . . Joe Gowlan is a. modern, prototype of the “wicked man who flourishes as the green bay tree.” He leaves Sleescale with part of the proceeds of the strikers looting, finds ’.work, .‘in a neighbouring town where he ; lodges with jJenny s parents. His pursuit of Jenny brings satiety,. and-his renewal of acquaintance with David shows Joe how to get rid of Jenny. His plan works, and gives Joe an example of the value of smart practice. After a disastrous development of that method with a bookmaker Joe learns wisdom. He returns to Sleescale, resumes relations with Jpnny, now David’s wife, and obtains employment at some' engineering works owned by Stanley Millington. “Millingtons” had been saved from collapse by the demand for munitions, and Joe gained rapid promotion as the better class man left on active service. He had become works manager j when Stanley Millington enlisted, but. Joe had other than business dreams. | He had developed an infatuation for, Millington’s wife, Laura, but it was > not until Stanley had left for France , that he discovered the passion was. mutual. Laura becomes his mistress and sets herself to improve Joe’s ignorance of , social rules. His association with Laura 1 and the responsibilities of business j awaken Joe’s latent capabilities. He has no scruples, much native shrewdness, and the faculty of learning from others how best to feather his nest. Millington returns a physical and mental wreck from shell shock, and Joe, with a partner in his sharp practices over munitions, buys the ; business on his own terms. His career from then onwards is a series of triumphs. It includes the purchase of the Neptune colliery and his victory over David Fenwick at the general election. When the book ends Nemesis seems as far away from Joe as a crown of righteousness. Richard Barras and his son Arthur,' the latter a conscientious objector who was sent to prison by his father’s action, are two of those contrasts in will and conscience of which Dr. Cronin writes with such pungency. Arthur is convinced that the tragedy at the flooded mine was due to his father’s greed, and lives to .find his suspicions proven. He pours out his father’s ill-gotten money, in making the Neptune the safest of mines and the conditions of labour the 'best in England. He fails to get the confidence and the co-operation of the miners and the depression does the rest. “The Stars Look Down” pitilessly upon these little humans with their loves and lusts, with their swinishness and their bravery, with their successful selfishness and their high endeavour. ' The end of it all? That is for the reader to ponder, and he will find it more than worth while. Ethics and politics are there, but it is as a story brimful of interest that this book will be best remembered. t

Jeffery Famol’s Romances in 2s 9d editions (postage >3d). We have just landed a stock of the favourite titles as well as new ones in this edition, as follows: The Amateur Gentleman—The Broad Highway—Black Bartlemy’s Treasure — Peregrine’s Progress — The Shadow—The High Adventure—Chronicles of the Imp—Charmian Lady Vibart —Over the Hills—The Loring Mystery— The Jade of Destiny—The Quest of Youth—Sir John Dering—Gyfford of Weave—and many others. A. J. Fyfe, Ltd. “The Book People.” Next to . “The Hash.”*