A New Prophet ?
MR. ADRIAN &rola:a is known to a few in this country for his remarkable first book, The Thread of Ariadne. He has now followed it by an even more curious book, entitled Sunrise in the West, which he coolly describes to us as a modern inter- pretation of past and present.
Mr. Stokes, at a very early age, suddenly left home to travel round the world. He returned to London minus certain illusions and plus a good deal of experience. Above all, he came back altogether bereft of belief in " the wisdom of the East." He saw China and India and disliked them both.
He is now a confirmed Westerner and, as his title suggests, believes that Old Europe, in spite of appearances, has the future with it. His new book is in ninny ways a justification of this thesis, although this may not be immediately apparent to the hasty reader. Indeed the hasty reader can hardly be advised to attempt the book at all, for it is often extremely obscure, being composed, in . many parts, of Nietzschean aphorisms rather than of continuous argument, seeking to create its effect by building up a series of cumulative impressions in the reader's mind. The phraseology is often terribly luxuriant. But in spite of many difficulties and some absurdities of style, the reader may find much to interest him.
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