• U.S.

Books: New Books: Jul. 28, 1924

3 minute read
TIME

The following estimates of books much in the public eye were made after careful consideration of the trend of critical opinion:

THE DARK NIGHT−May Sinclair−Macmillan ($2.00). In this novel in free verse, Miss Sinclair appears to have created a new literary form. It is a dramatic narrative poem recounting Elizabeth’s love for the poet Victor−a love which lasts, even when Victor deserts her for a younger woman, and glows triumphant when he returns to her, disillusioned, blind. At times the unusual form of its telling seems to create a strained, disjointed effect, with false emphasis. But for the most part, the lines flow with vivid, restrained and often impassioned beauty.

THE RIGHT PLACE−C. E. Montague−Doubleday, Page & Co. ($2.50). Mr. Montague, in “holiday humor,” here lets flow delicious cataracts of amenities, which must have been dammed up within him for many years. Whatever delights him−from the discovery of a glassy, Swiss lake to the discussion of “faces and fortunes of cities”−is in The Right Place, the reading of which is in itself a holiday. Borrowing the Montague imagination, one experiences the cream of excursions. It is not, however, a book of travels; it is a series of enchanting essays wherein remembered places served the author as they served the artist, Turner; that is, as points of departure for his fancy. Even the anticipation of a voyage, or the reading of a map, is enough to start the author “ringing the bell” (to use his phrase) “so to speak, at the front door of heaven.” While searching for the sunset on the other side oi a snowy mountain, or for beauty in Liverpool, the author captures a special brand of happiness, which, he says, “can only be caught by hunting for something else.”

WIND’S END−Herbert Asquith−Scribner’s ($2.00). Margot in her famed autobiography referred to her stepson, Herbert, as the poet of the Asquith family. Poet Asquith, who is also a barrister, has written a story of violence and mystery. Perhaps, in his decision to burst into prose, he was guided by his father’s self-admitted passion for mystery stories; but certainly he has not been able to capture the ex-Premier’s brilliant style, nor distinguish himself by wielding an audacious pen after the manner of his stepmother. Wind’s End is well written in good English ; it is a book full of horror, ghosts and detectives, not entirely convincing. It is a ‘book that might be much better and again might be much worse.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com