SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
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Modern Icelandic Plays. (Published for the American-Scandinavian Foundation by Humphrey Milford 6s. net.)—The American-Scandi- navian Foundation is to be congratulated on the publication of these two plays by Mr. Johann Sigurjensson. They of course have a certain attraction of novelty, for the country of their origin is little known to us ; but in addition to this they have not only dramatic power but literary distinction of a high order. Both plays deal with the theme of the struggle of human love with love of the homestead. Eyvinci of the Hills, which made its author famous, is a tragedy, written with much beauty and a fine simplicity, and the central characters, Haile and Kari, are cast in the heroic mould. Halle, particularly, is a notable creation— gracious in the earlier and happier scenes, terribly poignant in those moments in the cave where, her reason shaken by her privations, the heaps frenzied reproaches on the man she loves and for whom she has endured banishment and exile. The second play, The Braga Farm, is a charmingly written little idyll. As drama, it perhaps suffers somewhat from too much detail, but English readers will easily forgive this, as it affords so attractive and realistic a picture of country life in Iceland. As in Eyvind of the Hills, the characterization is boldly done and the people have a strong human appeal. The book deserves to be very widely road, and we look forward with pleasure to seeing more of Mr. Sigurjonsson's work.
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