This Month’s New Reading

Gnawing Conscience

Beneath the Palms

THIS book is about Hawaii but the title, Let Us Alone, does not refer to the grass-skirted naked from-the-waist-up hula girls who are featured on the dust-jacket.

Author John Fisher takes his title from Tennyson: Let us Alone. Time driveth onward fast, And in a little while our lips are dumb.

Let us alone. . .

It is Hawaii of the immediate pre and immediate post-American annexation and is a story of a man who would likely have pleaded to be left alone to drift even if Fate had cast him up in Bloomsbury in stead of the languorous islands of Hawaii.

But fate had been unkind to Frank Fanning in the matter of a back bone, so the Jade made up for it by seeing that he was provided with sufficient of the world’s goods to make drifting possible.

The author knows enough about the Pacific—the air and steamer routes, anyhow—to infuse authen ticity into the book, and as a study of a weak character it has its merits.

Nonetheless, the narrative at times drags its feet to such an extent that it becomes wearisome —particularly when Frank has twinges in his better-self and feels that he should be up and doing—either as an historian, a doctor to lepers, or as a traveller in foreign parts.

Considering the slightness of the theme one can wonder, unprofitably, of course, why the story was drawn out to make this fairly bulky novel.

The readers it is most likely to appeal to are those who still enter tain romantic notions about Pacific islands —and these are not likely to be dwellers therein, (Published by Heinemann. Australian price, 18/9.)

Zeb in the West

And in Cinemascope

THE publishers of The Fortune Finders (by Jacquin Sanders) describe it on the dust-jacket as “Western extravaganza,’’ which is about as near as anyone could hope to get to this amazing piece of fiction. There are Indians, murder, skullduggery, much shooting, gold rushes and all the usual trimmings, plus principal characters twice life size and three times as entertaining.

Zeb Hawkins, a store “clerk,” left his home town in Vermont and headed West to make his fortune when his grandmother left him 500

dollars. Zeb travelled west for six months and then, in the desert, met up with Davis Borton and Borton’s two young squaws, Necktie and Other One. They are : identical twins except in the small degree of difference in their moralsJ Borton teaches Zeb to mine; they make a modest fortune which Zeb loses in a roulette game. Necktie teaches him a couple of other things.

When he is flat broke, Zeb goes back to clerking in the local store and is subsequently offered the job of man ager of the local brothel. He de clines and he and Necktie set up as water-sellers during a near-by gold rush. They coin enough to set up a store for themselves.

Zeb continues to have adventures,; economic and otherwise. His treat ment of the avocado pear affair could be regarded as Lesson I for any up and coming business tycoon, Western style.

That is the bare bones; in addi tion you get Sanders’ vigorous and lusty style of writing which is in itself worth the price of admission.

But don’t mistake this for some-l thing you can give Junior Son for his 13th birthday. It is to be con sidered strictly as not for (gen eral exhibition.

If you like Westerns you will probably like this. Even if you don’t, you will probably like it, anyhow. (Published by Peter Davies. Australian price, 15/6.)

Love in an Aqua lung

WHEN you hear a story as a radio-play of about 50(1 separate daily episodes you arc unlikely to take the book, when il appears, as a serious piece of literature.

Morris L. West’s novel, Gallows on the Sand (which has been broad cast recently over Australia!

National stations on the 6.45 p.m star spot) therefore suffers froir this disability.

But if you can forget that it has been a soap-opera, and simplj require a light, fast-moving, action packed story to while away a long plane trip or to laze away a, sunn; day, this will fill the bill. 1 It is written in the slick, sophisticated American style currently popular ir this type of book although most o: the action takes place on an islanc off the north Queensland coast.

Renn Lundigan was a lecturer ii history at the University of Sydne: —but he did not spend all his tim< with ancient tomes. In fact. h< spent quite a slice of it in Manny’; baccarat dive at King’s Cross; ant he sometimes drank more than wai good for him.

However, he had studied ancien history sufficiently to have a theor;

about a Spanish galleon loaded wit gold coins that could have bee: wrecked on this island on th Barrier Reef. Renn had actual! found a gold, Spanish coin then and he had confirmation of th galleon’s movements from a archivist in Mexico.

It is not hard to imagine th rest of the story—complete wit faithful aide (part Japanese-pai Gilbertese), a beautiful girl whoi they found at death’s door (from stone-fish sting) when they lande on the island to dive for treasun and the villain in the person ( our old friend Manny from King Cross.

If all you seek is a little ligl entertainment, as a cure from tho office-induced ulcers, or as som thing to take your mind off tl fall in the cocoa price, you’ll fir this acceptable. (Published by Angus and Robertson, Sydm Australian price, 16/-.)