Fiction
DENIED A COUNTRY. By Herman Bang. (Knopf. 7s. 6d.)—To possess a thing is not always to appreciate it, and the truest patriot may be the outcast, who, denied an actual Country, desires one the more. This is the underlying theme of this novel by the great Danish writer who died in 1912. Bang, the translators tell us, led a roving life, and some of his own unsatisfied yearnings would seem to have inspired his story. The hero, Jean Ujhazy, belongs to a family that has lived for centuries on an independent island in the Danube. His mother is Danish and he feels the call of Denmark in his blood. He goes there, after spending some time in Paris and Vienna, but is disillusioned by the pettiness of the people. His comparative failure as a musician and a hopeless love affair complete his misery. As a criticism or caricature of modern Denmark the tale is bitter and probably unbalanced. But there is no denying the brilliance of the dialogue, through which a large number of characters of various nationalities are made to reveal themselves.
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