Life, 1923-01-25 · page 34 of 36
Life — January 25, 1923 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **literary criticism and advertising**, not political satire. The main content reviews a book titled "Bizarre" by Lawton Mackall—a collection of humorous essays. The critic praises Mackall's wit while critiquing the book's uneven quality and his tendency toward forced puns. The critic humorously notes that Mackall struggled to choose between "Bizarre" and "Bazaar" as the title. The poem "Some Slight Mistake" (left column) is a romantic lyric about a lover's unexpected happiness after separation—contrary to anticipated heartbreak. The advertisements feature **phonograph records** of "old time favorite songs," a **vermouth product** from Bordeaux, and **sailboats**—typical 1920s-era consumer goods. No political figures or social commentary are present. This is simply a book review issue of *Life* magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Eight ou Al Sizel0inch Records Here are the songs that never grow oldthe fa re, ballads th Shattouhevery he heart, Sust th eee shoal ibe EV} size double faco pe in EVERY HOME. Bight full 1records—Alffor only iy, gearantecd equal to tories, priced be played on any phonogray Send No Money. Foe fer so gnzee de nnese: Don't send a penny now, ¥ postman only $2.' ar cS Slee, SEN MGR Ua ones asi eegpotee i om aro ost National Music Lovers, inc., Dept 341 ,354 Fourth Av. NewYork Some Slight Mistake THOUGHT, when we no longer met, Chill morn should find me wan and white, Watching the morning break, and yet I find I sleep the livelong night, And scarcely in the morning wake— There must have been some slight mistake! I thought I was a stricken deer, That I must wander, lorn and lone; I find I’m very happy here, I find my heart is still my own. I thought to feel it slowly break— There must have been some slight mistake ! . I thought the unbidden tear would well, And gently on my breakfast drop, I thought I’d hate the dinner bell, But still I like my mutton chop. I still enjoy my juicy steak— There must have been some slight mistake ! I thought, when parting was our lot, Creation was a wicked thing; I find creations notice not: Some of the birds can even sing. The world’s foundations do not shake— There must have been some slight mistake! La T. H. As all attics have a past, so all cel- lars have a future. LIFE - The Latest Books (Continued from page 22) termed “clotted nonsense” has ever been put in print. It is not so much the author’s ignorance that appalls, but his utter inability to appreciate the fact that he is ignorant. Why this volume should have been pub- lished at all is a mystery that can only be ‘explained on the theory that it was. assumed that anything good enough for G. K. Chesterton is good enough for the American reading public. NE can readily conjure the round, smiling face of Lawton Mackall puckered into a mild agony of indecision as to whether “Bizarre” r “Bazaar” were the better title for his book of the former name (Lieber and Lewis). Evidently the dime fell heads so “Bizarre” won out, al- though, if you ask us, “Bazaar” were far more appropriate a cognomen. Thus does one go from article to article, entertained by this clever novelty and that; more, if one is speciously inclined, less, if one hap- pens to have become that way. As in every orthodox bazaar the articles are not equal in merit, which being the case, we recommend “The Care of the Husband,” “Black Jitney,” “The Man With the Hose,” and “How to Know the Instruments” as particularly fortunate—in our un- qualified approval, if not in anything else. Stepping out of the mackinaw for a moment, and laying aside that suspicious-looking pole with the iron gadget on the end, we would deplore Mr. Mackall’s predilection to forced puns and his inclination to over-carry the green. These libidos, alas, are due to long association with periodi- cals which, Cabell-like, it is not in Sail and Motor BOATS Sturdy Craft at Moderate Prices Inquire About Our Boardman-Hoyt Design Five-meter Racing Knockabout and Our Coupe Automobile Boat with Electric Self-starter Cape Cod Shipbuilding Corp. Wareham, Massachusetts Real Vermouth—as made by us during 64 years of wine-making at Bordeaux, France. alcohol removed from each bottle for use in this country. French or Italian Style. “Original Recipes”? Tells you how! Send for your free copy ae Restaurant & ses Wine Co. —————= New York Office, 483 West B'way. | ) Local Dealers Desired FOR _g MEN- ‘Tux Caney Patntino Co., Ino. New Yore BrrucEnEm OF BRAINS IGARS =MADE AT KEY WEST— the least convenient for us to name, As a matter of record, these are mi- nor blemishes which time, tide and his present affiliations will doubtless overcome. Two things particularly stand out in favor of Lawton Mac- kall, humorist. He makes all his wise cracks south of Forty-fourth Street, and the jacket of “Bizarre” supports no blurb telling the world how very, very darn good it is. MORE HONORABLE MAN, by Arthur Somers Roche, (Macmillan). Mr. Roche's success in writing mystery stories evideutly leads him to believe that fiction readers like to have a problem that, as the old actor in “Trelawney of the Wells” said, “you can set your teeth in.” This story of character development in two men, one of whom assumes the odium of a seduc- tion scandal in order that the woman he loves may marry a man wholly unworthy of her, is presumably in- tended to raise the question: Which is the more honorable man? All that it proves is that a certain kind of man will act according to his standards of morality, while another will sacrifice his own happiness in the foolish belief that he is mak- ing someone else happy. Each acted in matters involving a fine sense of honor just as his natural bent in- clined, and being what the author made him, could not do otherwise. An indubitably up-to-date story of modern business success and personal failure. ar Wi w w say thi pai Ter comicbooks.com