E. Coppard and Katherine Mansfield of
which I shall speak presently.
MORE LIMEHOUSE NIGHTS, by _Thomas Burke_ (George H. Doran
Company). It is a wise counsel of perfection which says that sequels are
barred, and I do not believe that Mr. Burke has chosen wisely in
endeavoring to repeat the artistic success of "Limehouse Nights." Apart
from "The Scarlet Shoes" and "Miss Plum-Blossom," this volume seems to
me to be second-rate, and I feel that Mr. Burke has already exhausted
his Limehouse field.
ADAM AND EVE AND PINCH ME, by _A.E. Coppard_ (Alfred A. Knopf).
I have endeavored elsewhere to express my opinion of "Adam and Eve and
Pinch Me" by dedicating this year's annual volume to Mr. Coppard. I
believe that he ranks as an artist among the best continental writers.
He sees life as a pattern which he simplifies, and weaves a closely
wrought fabric which is a symbol of human life as seen by a
disinterested but happy observer. His range is wide, and if he presents
the uncommon instance of a man who has absorbed all that two men as
different as Chekhov and Henry James have to teach, he brings to this
fusion a personal view which transmutes the values of his masters into a
new set of values. To do this successfully is the sign of a fine artist.
DEAD MAN'S PLACK, AND AN OLD THORN, by _W.
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