COCKALORUM By Hamish Maclaren Born writer as he is, Hamish
Maclaren should know that even a genius must discriminate between subjects. He may have the gift of words, but if there is one subject a writer should avoid unless he has something new to say, that subject is young men who "want to write." True, only part of this auto- biography deals with the author's assault on Fleet Street, but, coming towards the end, it left one with the impression that Cockalorum (Peter Davies, 10s. 6d.) was just one more "first autobiography" by a writer too lazy to work out a first novel. Not that the novel is necessarily a higher form of writing than autobiography, but an author should resist the temptation to write about himself as long as possible„ till tie sum of his experiences has been skimn.ed and what is of value distilled' into its essentials. Cellini's advice wa:s good : " . . . they should not com- mence this honourable task before they have passed their fortieth year." The- sole purpose of these remarks is to induce Mr. Maclaren to write more stories like "Luigi and the Octopus" and " Mollyhawks." In both of these chapters he shows that uncanny feeling for words which no mediocre writer ever acquires. His vocabulary is rich ;' he blend manner with mood like a first:, rate dramatist-; his comedy is as-broad- as it is deep, and live characters fly from his pen like aoirei from st- con- juror's bat. In short, he is at his beSt when his subject is on the grand sale, whether of comedy or drama. Let him describe his days in the navy, his encounters With the odder specimens of port-life as often as he likes, but leave Bloomsbury, St. Martin's crypt, vacuum-cleaners, and such depressing matters to the smaller fry.
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