Stale and Flat
SWEET AND SOUR. By John O'Hara. (Cresset Press, 12s. 6d.) THIS is a collection of short pieces written for the book page of a New Jersey Sunday paper. There is very little actual discussion of books, the subject-matter being largely confined to reminiscences and gossip about American writers—many of them unknown even by name to the average British reader—plus a great deal of whim- sical chit-chat : 'I have my misgivings (Miss Givings, take a letter).' There is an amusing satire on publicity methods in the American book trade, and an interesting sidelight on Mr. Hemingway's hangers-on, but admirers of Appointment in Samarra and Butter- field 8 will in general feel themselves badly let down. Mr. O'Hara prides himself, at some length and several times over, on being a professional writer, which in this context he regards as being equivalent to the ability to produce copy on time, and his admira-
tion seems reserved for those who defer sitting down at the type- writer until the last possible moment. Constant capacity to beat the deadline is indeed a mark of the 'pro,' and it may also distinguish some kinds of good writer, but punctuality of this sort can come to mean punctuality with any old rubbish. It is sad to see a man of Mr. O'Hara's quality falling into this trap. And is it really neces- sary, even today, to charge 12s. 6d. for a 162-page book?
KINGSLEY AMIS
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