Not Hilarious, But Clever

“Across the Water”, by Michael Campbell, described on the dust jacket as “a brilliant comic anatomy of contemporary Ireland”, is, at first, something of a disappointment, largely because of that dust cover.

ONE expects a hilarious Irish comedy reminiscent of George A. Birmingham’s writings, and it is a little bit disappointing not to have had a real good laugh by the time one has finished Chapter VI.

But at that stage I began to accept the novel for what it is, a clever de scription of contemporary Dublin, its environments and its society, and I enjoyed it.

The story opens with the Mur rough-Bryants and the Neelans liv ing in a state of neighbourly hostility. Old Major Murrough- Bryant has a thrice-married daughter, the lovable Grania Agerton-Willy, and an amiable grandson, Patrick- Price-Jones.

The air of scandal which surrounds the Murrough-Bryants in the eyes of Mrs. Neelan has been exacerbated by Crania’s reduction of the

Neelan’s maid, Finola. A dramatic and—at times—amusing chain of events intervenes before the many feuds in motion are laid to rest.

The book is crowded with all sorts and conditions of characters—one feels at times a little bewildered and that perhaps there are too many— and there is a great deal of talk, as one would expect of the Irish.

It is all very entertaining, and to one who has not seen Ireland for 30 years or so, there are nostalgic references to College Green and the magnificent facade of Trinity.

Nothing much seems to have changed since the hectic days of the Black and Tans in the nineteen twenties, except that the Irish hatred of the English does not appear to be so intense. —EN. (ACROSS THE WATER. Published by Heinemann. 20/-.)