Life — January 27, 1921 — page 8: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

On Buying Novels HE publishers are urging everybody to buy a book a’week, on the principle that everyboay ought to have a library of his own. If this rule is obeyed, a small part of one’s library will consist of serious books, but the larger part will consist of novels. A well-written novel that is also a good story is a great acquisition to any home, whereas a poor novel only takes up space. Therefore, it is important to know beforehand just what kind of a novel you really want, and for this purpose the following classification may be useful. The exciting story that has no other merit beyond the time it takes to read it. If it is not too tawdry and badly written, it may be useful because there are certain periods in busy lives when this form of recreation is of great value. The exciting story that is also so well written as to make it in addition real literature. This book is rare. The best way to know it is to follow the work of the big authors and know in a general way what they are doing. The character story, well written, which the critics usually proclaim as the best book of the year, but which from the story point of view usually lacks interest and can be appreciated only by those few people who enjoy literary workmanship for itself alone without regard to its excitements, The historical novel. These are generally well writteh, and in a way instructive. Their value depends quite largely on whether or not you are fond of history. The novel of English life. This depends not so much upon its pure story interest, as upon the unusually intimate picture it presents of the social life of England. If you want to know LOCAL GOSSIP MOS SAMPSON wuz over back of the Bulli- vard settin’ some rabbit snares last Tuesday when it come on to snow some, and him bein’ in a hurry to git started hum gut to fussin’ with the noose, and it went off and ketched him by the Je ! 4 . : whiskers and pulled about a handful right offen his what our English cousins are doing, this novel will tell you. chin. So Amos is wearin’ sideburns now. Jim Examples: The novels of Arnold Bennett, John Galsworthy, Parker sez thet's what comes o’ lettin’ yer whiskers H, G. Wells and J. D. Beresford. run wild, but Amos sez he’s gled uv it as the acci- The novel of American life. The same thing that is true of dent brought to light a real amber pipe stem that he the English novel is true of this novel, as applied to America lost some time back. The best novels of this kind also have a genuine story interest. (To be continued in our next.) Examples: The novels of Booth Tarkington, Kathleen Norris, _ _ _ - Mary Roberts Rinehart and Sinclair Lewis A Monk of Capri MONK there was, and he walked alone On a terrace in fair Capri, And he said to himself in a terrible tone, “My virtue has gone from me. I picked up the rose that a flower girl threw, And she also threw me a look, Which I. returned, though in my hand I held the holy book. O Father, forgive. I will penance do.” But alas for his virtue rare— The flower girl’s laugh rang clear and sweet, And he thought of her face so fair: He drew the rose from beside his heart, And kissed it, and kept it there. Loughrea Blair. 'HERE is no time like the present ex- cept the last two thousand years and possibly the next ten, SLUM MING. comicbooks.com