Books: Round & Round

THE FAMILY CIRCLE—Andre Maurois —Appleton.

Though eclipsed by many another French writer, in the opinion of many a big and little wig, Andre Maurois (real name: Emile Herzog) stands first in the eyes of a majority of his countrymen, is now generally regarded as France's foremost living writer. Readers who eschew the unsteady brilliance of Jean Cocteau, the cold amorality of Andre Gide, turn with relief to the sympathetic charm, the Judaic kindliness, of Author Maurois. His ironic fire, at its fiercest only kindled laughter, never burnt anyone. An unembarrassing writer, his manners are beautiful—although, like most good manners, a little banal.

In The Family Circle the Maurois irony is notably absent. Denise was the fiery daughter of a provincial bourgeois family. Her mother, nearly as often as she put on her bonnet, clapped horns on her husband. He was weak and intelligent, thought there was nothing to be done about it. But Denise and her sisters began to hate their mother as soon as they understood gossip. Denise, strongest of the family, left home as soon as she could, went away to school, then to Paris, where she took Fellow-Student Jacques as her lover. She hoped big things for Jacques, but when he felt the call of the mild and returned to the provinces to be a petty lawyer, she cut him out of her system. Edmond, son of a potent international banker, caught her on the rebound and asked her to marry him, though he could give her only a banker's love. Denise took him, hoped she could make him into a world-force. But his father thought one in the family was enough, kept him subordinate as long as he could.

Edmond and Denise got along pretty well. Then when he was away on a business trip, she fell without much of a struggle to Managua, professional lady-killer, and took the affair so hard that her conscience went to her head, nearly drove her off it. Edmond was so nice about it that she gave up lady-killers for a long Lent. Edmond's father died, Denise rushed Edmond to the throne, encouraged him into such a multiplicity of ventures that at last he failed. But by that time they had so much practice in being partners, Denise had unlearned so much intolerance, learned a few good lessons so well, that she was willing to settle down in a small way, be friends with her mother again, get to know her children, let the family circle revolve.