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Show until mm minimi iimmmmiiiimmuu AMOMG THE MEW BOOKS m iimmiMmiiHimmmiiiiitimmmmniimiiMiiiiimmiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii BEST STORIES OF 1918 AND AMERICAN YEAR BOOK O0T THE SHORT STORY. Edited by Edward Ed-ward J. O'Brien. Book by Courtesy Cour-tesy of D. C. Callahan. TT is quite astonishing to see how J- much the styles of our short story writers are alike. They write with almost equal brilliancy and the differences dif-ferences in manner are unimportant. Something has had a leveling influence influ-ence and we wonder what it is. Has the American magazine required that there shall be no salient departure from what might be termed an All-America All-America stylo? Are we to have no verse librists in prose, if we may be permitted a bull? We are inclined to ask ourselves what would happen if a story-telling Walt Whitman were suddenly to carry the magazine fortifications forti-fications by storm? We can at least congratulate ourselves our-selves that the level is high. No slipshod slip-shod work is permitted by our leading lead-ing magazines. The story must be in good form, whether the literary content con-tent be inspid or of surpassing power and significance. If I were to attempt at-tempt in a phrase to tell how it came about that our leading story-writers adopted the same style I Bhould say that they were convinced of the necessity ne-cessity of being "intensely literary." And to be intensely literary one must bow to accepted canons of expression, expres-sion, which does not mean that one must use trite phrases. There is a distinction between diction and' stylo that must not bo lost sight of. Style is the manner or spirit in" which the story is told. The diction is a question of syntax and some other elements of grammar. As a matter of fact the writers display consider able originality of diction, but almost Invariably they fall Into the same manner of telling their story. It is an elevated and sophisticated, one Is tempted to call it a supercilious university .manner, but it is successfully success-fully simulated by writers who never have seen the inside of a university. Some of the stories which Mr. Con-sor Con-sor O'Brien has selected in "his wisdom wis-dom all sublime," are rather too obvious. ob-vious. One which he accords the very first place is stylistically most imposing, but as a story it is much too transparent. The ending is made manifest when the writer has escorted escort-ed us only about a third of his journey jour-ney and the foreseen ending is so painful that it is a nervous strain to continue on our way until the last word is said. It deals with the super-humiliation super-humiliation of a "high-brow" spinster who is the literary light of a small university. It is as if some literary Abdul the Damned were sticking pins in flies for our delectation. A number of the stories seem to have been selected for their correctness correct-ness jlffd attractivonss of form rather than for " gieat merit in the pjpts. The (let, ption and dialogue dia-logue are high-flown and -the stylos i """" minim immiimiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiMiitt Mimiimiiiiiiiimi.i exquisitely literary. One is a psychological psycho-logical study of a plain middle westerner west-erner who becomes involved in the war and acquires many decorations. The writer is Striving subtly to suggest sug-gest an intangible fineness of soul that is indescribable. He becomes lost in ultra-violet rays that never were on sea or land. f The book is filled, nevertheless, with engaging stories. Two of them are conspicuous triumphs of matter and form. One is written by a Turkish Turk-ish gentleman who has become one of the New York literary world, Although Al-though he has committed himself to the melting pot ho has not lost tlio lustrous gold of this oriental imagination. imagina-tion. His Pell street romance of Chinese Chi-nese love, etiquette and murder is a marvel. It is especially distinctive, moreover, because the author has not succumbed to the witchery of the standardized American style, whose devotees believe that a "thing of beauty Is a joy forever." The other story is entitled "The Cpen Window." It Is eerie, terrifying, terrify-ing, powerful, and is told with a spirit and an art that are alluring. It is a psychological study of an exceptional ex-ceptional variety, but by the very fact that the writer is not dealing with absolutely sane phases of mentality men-tality he legitimately adopts a latitude lati-tude which he employs with compelling com-pelling effect. The book is supplied with indices which are intended for the reference of the literary worker, but which will be of interest to the average reader. For example, one index tells us just how many distinctive stories the various magazines printed in a single year. Of course, Mr. O'Brien, the collator of' the stories, is the judge, He marks a distinctive story with an asterisk, a better story with two asterisks as-terisks and a story of the highest distinction with three asterisks. According Ac-cording to this standard some magazines maga-zines have a high percentage' "of single-asterisk stories, while others rank high in two-asterisk or three-asterisk three-asterisk stories. It is curiously absorbing ab-sorbing to note how our favorite magazines mag-azines are rated in this odd competition competi-tion in which one intellect is the czar and autocrat. |