The Undying Past. By Hermann Sudermann. (John Lane. 6s.)—In his
new novel Herr Sudermann shows us how the events of a man's past life pursue him with relentless persistence, and implies the dreary doctrine that it is quite impossible for a man to escape from his past, be his efforts never so great or his repentance never so sincere. There is a profound depression over the whole book, though the literary art which presents it is, as usual with Sudermann, fall of force and of fine restraint. But the reader will shut the novel feeling that the world is a worse place than he imagined, although the unlikeness of the society depicted to that in which English people live makes the realism of the book less impressive in an English translation than in the original. As a whole this example of the sombre genius of Suder- mann cannot be regarded as the highest type of art. It depicts a sordid disaster, and has not the noble qualities which alone enable tragedy to give relief to those passions of pity and terror which it excites.
Previous page
