27 MAY 1943, Page 20

Shorter Notices

2.

Books which compress the literary history of nearly a thousand years into a few hundred pages (in this case 148 pages) should ai at being informative only, but it is almost impossible to describ without criticising and criticism that is so exceedingly brief canno escape some distortion. With this reservation Mr. Laurence Sisson' book may be praised for its general tone and for its usefulness as guide to contemporary French literature. In Part V which th author entitles "The Cult of tke Subconscious (1914-1940)" Cher• ' are to be found the names of most of the poets and prose-writers wh made an impression upon the French reading public in the year between the two wars. Some names are missing (e.g., Malraux Lenormand, Montherlant, C.iline), but Mauriac, Cocteau; Caro Breton, Hamp, de la Varende, and others who are still little know in this country are all objectively and sympathetically dealt with.