Books: New Void Symphony

O K*A*P*L*A*N! MY K*A*P*L*A*N

by LEO ROSTEN

361 pages. Harper & Row. $10.95.

Hau Kay. Here ve got new book abot mine debentures vit de beauriful, vunderful English langwitch. You remamber mebbe The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N from 1937? The Return of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N from 1959? Now is mekink vun book from de odder two. (Only de whole kitten cadoodle is new becawss by Rosten is so much rewridink.) Absolutel!

De sin is again de same−American Night Priparatory School for Edults. (Batter it should say school for greenhorns, becawss here is all pipple like me who are not livink lonk in U.S.) Comms again our titcher, Mr. Pockheel, to explain de hoddest pots gremmer, spallink, pernonciation an’ de minnink English voids. But Rosten is in every pedge improvink. New fallow students he gives me. (Bloom, Tarnova, Matsoukas, Perez isn’t inoff?) New titchers he puts in, new lassons, new voids.

Is improvink alvays mekink batter? I esk! I enser−I got de fonny fillink no. Like in my job−cotter mens cloths−seemple is bast. Rosten (here I’m mekink dip bow to mine creator) is dis time cotting too fency. Is mekink too many gegs an’ stratching averyt’ing ot too lonk.

Steel I say: ridders, buy dis book! For why? Becawss of me, Kaplan. I am foist-cless student, A number vun. I make many mistakes, netchurel. But my mistakes make as moch sanse as English. Alvays Kaplan got rizzons, so mebbe is type of ginius. Iven Mr. Pockheel admits. Vhy alse he kips me all to himsalf an’ is never permodink me to higher grate? T-H-E END.