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high e themmm Crane Review of “ Wind” Disparages Noted NoveliThe Wind, novel issued anonymously by Harper and Brothers some time ago with the scene supposed to have been laid near Sweetwater, has aroused considerable discussion among book reviewers. One such review, printed herewith, is rather favorable but R. C. Crane, whose review is also given here, goes into the matter more deeply. The Craneseiew is interesting for its insight into early West Texas history.An anonymous novel has just boon issued by Harper and Brothers. The title is “The Wind”—the thing responsible for the story, according to the author. It is a character study of Letty Mason, a Virginia girl, who goes to live with cousins on a ranch near Sweetwater, Texas. The following sentence is the reason for, and explanation of the story: “How could a frail sensitive woman fight theIImt??li«iwind? How oppose—wild, shoutingvoice that never let her know the peace of silence?—a resistless force that was at her all day, a naked, unbodied wind—like a ghost more terrible because invisible that wailed toher across waste places in the night, calling to her like a demon lover,The author (probably a woman) has transplaced the wind from the vast Texas prairie to the book, and it sweeps through the pages with all the cyclonic violence of the storm. But unlike our superabundance of western stories, it is not a story of action, except for the wind, and to the lovers of Zane Gray it will seem commonplace and flavorless.The last half of the book is powerfully written; the ending of the story, although gruesome, is artistically handled.■ (By R. C. Crane)The book reviewers have been busy lately writing about “The Wind,” a novel recently issued by Harpers1 anonymously, whose setting is near Sweetwater in the hazy early days of the West. So far I have seen no comment on this book by anyone claiming* familiarity with the facts handled by the author.says in the presence of Letty Mason; “I'm starv.cd, too, till my belly’s sticking to iny backbone.” And again he says; “I'd leave like a bat shot out of hell.’No genuine cowboy of the old school ever usedv any such language in the presence of ladies, but would stand ready to pull the nose of anyone else who did. There never was a class ofteasmfedi«,lutionsTo the casual reader it would ap- ; pear somewhat doubtful whether the j author in writing ‘‘The Wind” had in mind the throwing,in of enough West * Texas local color of the early variety to “liquefy” and give a setting to the plot, or whether the plot was thrown in to “liquefy” a deliberate effort, by disregard and exaggeration and distor lion of facts, to deliver a slam on West Texas in the making*. The casual reader would be inclined to the view that whatever the object of the author, certainly to turn out a book calculate! to sell was not lost sight of. i Faulty bocal Color| I submit the following observations on this book:1. The author displays ignorance ofIK!s either ke good ikes theRKthe old-time cowboy as a class when she (I believe Harper’s admit that the author is a woman) lias Sourdough using in the presence of the young lady that he loved such language as the following: “We mostly live onsow belly and hominy,” and, passing a dish to her at the table, lie says; “Take some of these Mexican frijoles. 'Take plenty. Take damn nigh all of them.” Ami again when Sourdough(Continued on Page Eight)HuatHfflKOBSAre You IEClosesSaturday,December12th2nd Ar— A visit to oue Offerings will pro in material, work;CATHEFormerly stTHE
Newspaper Details
Sweetwater Daily Reporter
Sweetwater, Texas, US
Sun, Nov 29, 1925
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 09 Nov 2023
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