7
BOOKS OF THE WEEK
Country to London ...
Wonder Hero. By J. B. Priestley.
Harper & Brothers. $2.50
The light satiric vein so preva-'
lent in J. B. Priestley's previous
stories is concerned here with the
blatant methods of newspaperi
men. The story transplants a
young country fellow and girl to
the bustle and roar of London.
He is the "wonder hero" of Utter.a
ton; she the winner of a provincial
beauty contest. They meet, are
run ragged by irrepressible news-
paper men, and fall, true to Priest-
ley's method, wholly in love with
each other. They retire to the'
non-descript existence they knew
before they became worthy of1
publicity and exploitation. .
Priestley inevitably establishes1
a contrast of good and bad in peo,
ple and he adds Ida Chatwick and.
Charles Habble to the long gar-
land of characters who are in part
latter-day emanations from the
pen of Dickens.
The satire of Priestley'is never
very biting nor does he mean forl
it to be. His attacks are done
humorously rather than detri.'
mentally. The manner in whichl
he moves his puzzled characters1
throughout the book at times ap-
proaches the ludicrous.
The character of Ida Chatwickl
the heroine is drawn in proportionl
with life itself. There is an ex.
cellent touch of pathos in herr
helplessness and worldly inno-
cence. We felt her uneasiness as
we turned the pages and found
Mr. Priestley spinning his inter
esting tale.!
Although the author's methods
are mechanical, he fabricates
plots and situations with a great
degree of skill. He has cut down
the number of words necessary
for him to tell a story without sac-
rificing in any detail his famed
knowledge of how things are go-
ing on in the world.
Psychological Self-
Appraisal...
Homecoming. By Floyd Dell.
Farrar and Rinehart. $3.00
The more careful reader is al-
ways interested in knowing how
much of his own life a fiction
writer projects into his work and
how m u c h he manufactures
synthetically. By c o m p a r i n g
his autobiography "Homecoming"
with Floyd Dell's novels we see
that certain incidents have been
juxtaposed and remodeled to fit
the situations he has created in
his novels.
"Homecoming" not only reveals
the sources of his novels but ex-
presses his philosophy as well.
We see him as a helpless child in
a sinister, overbearing world. His
poor parents can do very little for
the infant who can do less for
himself. When he arrives upon the
threshold of maturity wholly un-
prepared, and faces two major
problems, work and sex, he strikes
a bargain with life, only after
many struggles, mistakes and sor-
rows.
For those who are still caught
in this maelstrom, Floyd Dell's
honest self psychoanalysis should
prove worthwhile and comfort-
ing.
"OLD RAGS, BOTTLES, RAZOR BLADES, BOOKS?"
Everything from texts to shaving equipment was exchanged among the students of New York
University when they opened their own "Curb Market" on their campus. Barter figured largely
in all of the transactions, despite the fact that many cash sales were made. Following the open-
ing of the "Exchange" students hurried from group to group in a mad effort to find the highest
bidders for their belongings, while customers resolutely stuck to their low offers. The photo
shows a general view of the "Market" and the large crowd that attended the sale.
Acme Photo
PEP ORGANIZERS
supreme, these mem-
b e r s of "Tassels",
University of Ne-
braska women's
group, would cheer
anybody into buying
tickets for anything.
Right now they are
leading a drive in
support of the Corn-
huskers' stud en t
theater. We have pic-
t u r e d here, (upper
x row, left to right)
Ruby Schwemley, Vi-
olet Cross; ( l o w er
row) Laura McAllis-
ter, Maxine Pack-
;~wood,, Val e nt i ne
Klotz, Thelma tSter
kel, Anne Bunting,
Florence Buxman.
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al. l'm cudaraatz tWlk
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P D/Ot5 ie xi ct &tyca~1tcn Qplt a&t c wAr
bfl ilitbi 46/a ttkhfom&? cotomtSp
mlo7 Gr a4, 4ck00/ tWc ,a& d a to 1 Q,,
a II adA t t l t 77111c (fa- 7
t~ flyk I ;a drl,et ad j~h,//,wfx .! *
Acme Photo
oU
POISON TO COLLEG
Max Knecht, cousin of M
=-- -star boxer on the Univer
team, as he appears to t
- .., while battling his way to 1
collegiate Heavyweight c
hits equally hard with eit
WITH AN AIRPLANE FOR A CLASSROOM, Miami University- students, with diving helmets and air com- delivered knockouts with1
pressors, fly out into Biscayne Bay to search for rare fauna. They fly to class each~ morning in this 22-passenger plane.
mot.. _ 4