22 AUGUST 1931, Page 24

AFTERNOON MEN. By Anthony Powell. (Duckworth. 7s. 6d.)—As far as

a book describing a series of modern parties can be interesting, Afternoon Men is successful. But it is nothing more than its brilliant title leads the reader to expect. Ernest Hemingway has made some- thing good of this rather futile subject in Fiesta, but then he managed to get beneath the surface of this pleasure-loving, frivolous-minded, cocktail-drinking set. Of course, people are not at their best after two or three cocktails, and their conversation is not exactly brilliant. Mr. Powell's clear, easy style makes an unpalatable subject bearable. Afternoon Men is a competently written first novel.