Charles Angoff is one of
American Jewry's best story-
tellers. He has positive ap-
proaches to Jewish life. His
several novels, his scores of
essays and his
lectures have
elevated h i m
to a position
of great re-
spect.
Angoff espe-
cially gained
p opularity
with his series
of novels
about the Bos-
ton Polonsky Angoff
Family. His earlier works —
"Journey to the Dawn," "In the
Morning Light" and The Sun at
Noon" — gave him special
status as an interpreter of Jew-
ish life. He continues this series
in his newest novel, 'Between
Day and Dark," just published
by Thomas Yoseloff (11 E. 36th,
N.Y. 16), which is a continua-
tion of the Polopsky story.
It is a long and, like its pred-
ecessors, a very good novel. It
is primarily the story of David
Polonsky, his relatives and their
many friends, their experiences
in the years of Wilson, Harding
and Coolidge, their reactions to
Zionism and to the newly-
'emerged Soviet Communist
State and to scores of other
isues.
The story begins with David
Polonsky who reminisces about
his early days in Boston, his
uneventful love affair, his par-
ents (Moshe and Nechamah),
Peshe-die-Lange and her hus-
band Hershel, Alte Bobbe,
Beryl the Miraculous and his
parents and his retarded sister,
and many others who play
interesting roles in an emerg-
ing and Americanizing Jewish
community. David dreams of
the past. There is genuine nos-

work. There is a marked lack
of realism in the manner in
which Trotsky is portrayed as
the crude exposer of Beryl.
Angoff could have done better
than ascribe to Trotsky a cable
to Beryl's employers exposing
"Beryl the Miraculous." Where
has this ever happened in
diplomatic relations with the
press?
Perhaps the Baille-Yoshe epi-
sode lends itself sufficiently to
public interest without further
elaboration. But the Beryl inci-
dents could have been toned
down. They are so grossly ex-
aggerated in Angof f' s new
novel - that they make his story
faulty.
There are other faults. Ang-
off undertakes to describe the
Jewish press in America and
his characters discuss the Yid-
dish press. His evaluations of
the Yiddish newspapers could
have been considerably more
effective. But he is so anxious
to insert in his book so many
Yiddish terms he knows that
he becomes a bit boring.
In fact, on occasions we begin
to wonder whether Angoff
should not have called in his
friends who are well informed
Yiddishsists and Hebraists to
correct his interpretations and
his numerous quotations. He
has heard about the Haskalah
movement, but he speaks of it

NEW YORK (JTA) — A

Service After You Buy

group of 115 rabbis, graduates
of the Yeshiva University's
Theological Seminary, received
Semicha, rabbinical authority,
at the university's triennial
convocation Sunday. More than
2,000 persons attended the
ceremony.
The graduating class in-
cluded rabbis from 13 states
and C a n a d a, and several
foreign countries. Included
were 15 chaplains on duty with
the U.S. Armed Forces through-
out the world. Dr. Samuel Bel-
kin, president of the Yeshiva
University, was the principal
speaker at the ceremony.

Belgian Queen Mother
Greeted in Israel

TEL AVIV (JTA) — With
pomp and considerable eclat,
Israel officially welcomed the
first royal personage ever to
visit Israel formally, Queen
Mother Elizabeth of Belgium.
Flown to Lydda Airport in a
specially-equipped El Al Brit-
•ania jet plane, direct from
Brussels, Queen Elizabeth was
met by President and - Mrs.
Itzhak Ben Zvi, Mrs. Vera
Weizmann, widow of the late
first President of Israel, and
leading officials of the govern-
ment. Queen Elizabeth will
spend eight days in Israel.

Sharett Returns to Israel
After Month in Europe

as H a s ch o 1 e h. Those un-
ROME (JTA)—Moshe Shar-
acquainted with the Haskalah ett, former Prime Minister and

—the Enlightenment movement
in Russian Jewry—won't know
what he's talking about under
such a spelling. (H ascholeh

Foreign Minister of Israel, left
for Israel at the close of a
month-long tour of Europe.
The Israel leader visited eight
means beginning.)
countries in his tour and ad-
True, he avoids the crudities dressed 24 Jewish community
of dialects; but why refer to gatherings. He made fruitful
Peshe constantly as Peshe-die- contacts with Socialist leaders

Lange? It's a nickname, and in the Scandinavian countries,
he should have limited himself as well as in Italy.
only to infrequent references
talgia in his recollections, into to die Lange. This, it seems to
which are fused his torments, us, applies also to Alte Bobbe, Cleveland Federation Gets
-43-Year-Old Bequest
doubts, restraints and confu- A Bobbe usually is an Alte.
sions.
CLEVELAND, (JTA)—Forty-
* * *
There are many deeply
Angoff rises to greater three years after the death of
moving incidents in the book. heights when he describes Emanuel Reiter, the Jewish
They are well t o 1 d and David Polonsky's meeting with Community Federation of
thought-provoking. There is, Harry P. Brandt who gives him Cleveland has received a be-
for instance, the match- an editorial position on his quest of $55,046 from his estate.
making account between the American World, which finally
two unfortunately retarded takes David away from his cent experiences to the new
youths, Beryl Kanter's sister
heights to which Reform Jewish
Bailie and Yoshe the peddler minor post on a neighborhood leaders
are rising in Jewish life.
of ice. The two are married, paper and leads him to New
But
he
may be right in inter-
York
and
to
higher
rungs
on
they have a child, the baby
is hydrocephalic and dies, and the journalistic ladder. His con- pretating the antagonism to
the couple sinks even more versation with Brandt sounds Reform Judaism as the attitude
deeply into dispair and help- very much like Angoff's inter- of his characters, who belong
pretation of his experiences to the 1920s.
lessness.
This reviewer objects to re-
with H. L. Mencken, in one of
tragedy
of
the
parents,
The

his most recent book s. This
leads us to believe that this
novel is partly autobiographi-
cal.
The Brandt-American World
(Mencken-American Mercury?)
incident is one of the better
portions of "Between Day and
Dark."
Angoff's occasional uncom-
plimentary references to Re-
and Dark," it is incomplete.
Then there is the interesting form Judaism also are among
account of Beryl Kanter, the unnecessary elements in his
Baille's brother who showed no book, in view of our more re-

especially of Baille's mother
Peshe-die-Lange and her father
Hershel, is heartbreaking. Sel-
dom has an understanding
writer given as sympathic an
account of mentally handi-
capped people. But the story
ends there. Perhaps Angoff is
keeping Baille and Yoshe for
another novel. - In "Between nay

concern whatever for his sister.
Beryl married well and man-
aged to get a good position as

foreign correspondent. He was
sent to Russsia, became a sen-
sation as an interpreter of
Russian life and Soviet politics,
and was believed to be a close
friend of Leon Trotsky. Then
came the showdown: a cable

from Trotsky himself, exposing
Beryl as a fraud and his reports
as false. This resulted in Beryl's
recall to the United States. •
In the tale of Beryl we begin
to see shortcomings in Angoff's

dundancies in Angof f' s new
novel and to the superficial use
of Yiddish words and phrases.
In spite of these exceptions,
his "Between Day and Dark"
must be accepted as an out-
standing novel. He does not
offend. He portrays wholesome
Jewish attitudes. He searches
for the truth and for the finest
qualities in his Jewish cast of
characters. He has written
another very good novel.
—P.S.

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Charles Angoff's New Novel

