Books: Crisis Dodged

THIS ABOVE ALL—Eric Knight—Harper ($2.50).

This is the first novel of any real stature to come out of World War II. Under the steely immediacies of England's sky, it should make sensational reading. Even at a relatively comfortable distance, it has points that break the skin.

Main part of the narrative is the classical setup for all war fiction from worst to best: a soldier, a girl, the soldier's friend. The girl, Prudence, is upper-class, erving in the W.A.A.F. Clive, on leave after Dunkirk, is an intelligent, self-educated Yorkshireman of the working lass. They meet, spar, land in a haystack, any their uneasy...