23 JANUARY 1932, Page 26

Tom CREAGAN. By Dermot Barry. (Hamish Hamilton. 5s.)—This first novel,

though slight and tentative in treatment, shows that younger Irish writers are in in- creasing revolt against the idea of violence. Tom Creagan, a student, is swept by generous impulse into the Easter Week rising. But his experiences lead him to deplore the cruelty and madness of force. He has the courage of his convictions during the Black and Tan period, when popular feeling is at its height. The best scene is that in which Tom saves an English conscientious objector from being done to death at midnight in a stable as a spy. Quiet thoughtfulness is the note of this story, but the end shows a quickening sense of tragic irony,' and when the novelist gains a stronger control of his medium, he should do well.