Tue Gay Procession—By Norma Pat-person, Hutchinson, London. 1/6.
There will always be a public that enjoys reading of the everyday doings of everyday people and there will, doubt, always be authors whose particular bent Hes in portraying ich lives as. are led around us all the time, Norma Patterson, who has achieved a considerable reputa~ tion in America, according to the publisher's note, takes as her sub ject in "The Gay Procession" an American family, impoverished by the premature death of the father, but putting a good face on things' and growing up, under the care of a brave though somewhat improvident mother. The {wo boys and two. girls who make up her family are sketched from childhood with Ught but (elling strokes. One knows and recognizes all of them Drew. (the eldest), Oliver, Phyllis and Teslic. The rich aunt, who ities to make Drew marry for mone; the neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Wing, whose marriage is one long acrimony ious quarrel, to the great undoing of their only son; the family doctor, who does not play a very important part, bout who is familiar to us all In about three lines; all form part of the gay procession, though "gay" is not the word that really describes the various types which pass before us for view nor the ups and downs of their lives. "The story is too true to life not to hold its sadder moments, But all is well that ends well, and though the "dream house on the hill" looked at one time as though it were not going, to materialize for Drew, does, to the reader's great satisfac tion,' on the last page of the book.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.