Show Humorous Appeal Evident in inThey Had fC Haa t th SeeP i Homer Croy Delights s Readers Readers' With Whimsical al and Amusing Amus Amus- ing Characters By FRANK BECKER It would It-would would be impossible not to take lake takejo taketo to jo Pike Peters Peters long long tall and gaunt with quizzical wrinkles around his hise e eyes es who struck It rich Jn In n the oil lands of Oklahoma As Homer Croy describes him in his latest book They Had to See Sec Paris Pads he lie comes nearer to bell g our ideal of of what an American should be bluff be-bluff bluff hearty one of the boys loy who played poker took a drink occasionally and who sorrowfully remarked when for fol forthe forthe the first time he gazed upon the Arch de Hells huckleberry huckleberry huckle buckle berry It must have taken a lot lotof lotof lotof of widows and orphans to make that Homer Croy used to be bea a humor humor- 1st He still tIli is as a matter of ot fact tact with a subtle gentle irony that re reflects re- re fleets ts a kindly heart and a twinkling twinkling twin twin- kling kUng e eye e In a few words he can blast our American pretense or applesauce ap p- p as the saying is Pretense Pretense Pre Pre- tense tenso falls before his trenchant pen He makes maleC's one feel small and Insignificant Insignificant insignificant who ever attempted to parade parade pa pa- rade his accomplishments and had no more background than a little money and perhaps a high school education There Is a lL delicious mixture of contradictions between the homely life UCe of western America and the effete civilization of Paris with its classical traditions and its modern incongruities c For years Croy tried to mal make e an honest living Jiving by cracking Jokes He Ic barely barely- got by the at atthe atthe atthe the end of each week as we under under- stand Of course he might have had enough t to pay for a plain steak Then he suddenly grew serious He wrote West of the Water Vilter Tower and within a few weeks it was a best seller siler and a big motion picture company company came along and paid him for the picture rights and he lie found himself bu buying tenderloins Manifestly a few ready dollars In his pocket did not upset his TS quaint philosophy One can can imagine that ho possibly draws s from his own experience in detailing the adventures of Pike Peters sudden and unexpected oil millionaire For those who lio believe Ue In the soil sol solan an and the goodness of C America we certainly certainly certainly recommend this book Harper Harper Har liar per Brothers |