One Man, One Book?
ISLE OF CLOVES. By F. D. Ommanney. (Longmans, 18s.)
ONE MAN'S JOURNEY. By Leonard Cottrell. (Robert Hale, 16s.)
ALL these five authors have a sense of mission; they are per- suasive; they want us to see a point of view; they are (even if unconsciously) propagandists. Should we not apply the primary test of all—that of sheer readability? Three of the five satisfy the ancient cliché that everyone has at least one book in him, which presupposes readability. In each case they have written the book on a given situation, or set of facts, because each was the person on the spot observing the facts and reacting to the situation.
Dr. Ommanney is of the category of science-specialists who know how to keep science in perspective with the rest of life; also he can write. This story of Zanzibar tells why he was there, what he did, who he met, what he discovered by talking, observing. walking about with eyes, ears and nerves ready to react. He brings Zanzibar, past and present, historical, geographical and cultural, to sharp life. Next to going there, the best way to taste the island of cloves is to experience it through this book.
Mrs. van der Wiele is not likely to make another journey round the world lasting two years; but she has written the perfect `one woman, one book' account. Her husband, a friend and a dog made up her foursome; they had built a big, comfortable ketch and planned everything as far as possible. The book's merit lies in her continuous enchantment with the domesticity, the day-to-dayness of sailing, observing, cooking, resting, by a time-table—yet being prepared for oddities, for disruptions, for setbacks. She tells enough about triumphs of navigation and errors of seamanship, but she never fails to tell what they ate and drank, where they bought it, which friends they met, and how she enjoyed the glorious freemasonry of small-boat sailors everywhere.
Mr. King's story is in every way a sharp contrast. At first I thought it was worked up to make a sensational scoop for a cheap newspaper. He tells of several voyages as a steward on big passenger liners, and once the story gets moving one finds enough circumstantial truth, enough cross-reference to others' (and one's own) experience of big ships, to be able to accept his tale. This inside story of the dirt, thieving, violence, drinking and fighting all makes sense when you know the background; it also makes a morbid comment on the methods of organising and running the catering department of a big ship. I confess I had not known there were quite so many alcoholics, cosh-boys and sex perverts on Britain's proud ocean liners.
Mr. Moore, a Singapore businessman, has no violent political belief; he isn't a rabid reactionary, nor is he a burbling Blimp. In this detailed diary of half a year's talk, meetings, journeys in and about Malaya, he makes a passionate case for something to be done about the present state of affairs there. His facts on finance, building, industry, population-rise, seem indisputable. He probably hopes that somebody in Whitehall will wake up to the urgent problem of Malaya.
Mr. Cottrell tells of a recent mission to Egypt and the Near East, where he went to report on the working of various UN missions. He sees overworked but courageous doctors and
administrators struggling, with not quite sufficient funds and supplies, against a setting of Asiatic poverty and lethargy. He takes a quick look at ancient cities and ruins, and catches up on current political attitudes of Jews, Arabs, Syrians and Egyptians. But always there is a sense of restlessness : the pill of frustration. which he says is concealed 'under the sugar coating of swift and easy transport,' is already working as he dashes from depot to car, from hotel to aircraft, from hospital to ancient ruin.
The five all pass the test of readability; yet there is a signifi- cance in the fact that the more memorable description, the more moving account of person, place or custom, comes in the two books written out of full absorption in the subject—and written with obvious leisure and equally obvious desire to communicate. Is it necessary to say which are these two authors?
A. V. COTON
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