BOOKS

French writer's novel
‘outstanding event’

' WHEN AN outstanding literary
event like the publication in Eng-
lish of The Water Tower, Andre
Stil’s great novel of the struggle
of the French people, appears, it
should not be greeted with muted

, trumpets.

It is necessary to shout, loudly
and clearly, that any militant
worker, any fighter for peace and
national independence, who fails
to read this book is missing the
experience of a lifetime.

Books, pamphlets, periodicals
roll off the press in a never-end-
ing stream. Where will we find
the money to buy them, and
when, looking at all. the books
we have bought and skimmed
through, will we find time really
to read them?

For this book the money and
the time should be found. (The
Water Tower,.. first in a series
under the general heading, The

“Model working class novel”

First Clash, is obtainable here at
the People’s Cooperative! Book-
store, 337 West Pender, price $2).

¥ * *

>

IT IS THE story of the strug-
gles of the people of La Pallice,
near La Rochelle, in southwest
France, against poverty, unem-
ployment and the U.S. occupa-
tion. :

You see the people as they are,
in their strength and their weak-
ness, their meanness and their
generosity. There are not card-
board heroes and heroines in this
book, but ordinary people like
you and me. —

’ Because of their refusal to load
munitions for Indochina, the gov-
ernment has discriminated
against this port. Ships have been
diverted elsewhere,

_ Unemployment, it is hoped, will
break the spirit of the workers
and make them only too ready
to unload U.S. munitions when
they come and accept jobs in the
construction of the U.S. base
which is projected in the area.

We see the women in a shanty
town, hastily erected. after the
war, battling with the water flow-
ing into their ramshackle huts
during a rainstorm.

At the end we see the whole
cemmunity of shanty town unit-
ing to occupy a large building
used as a,training centre so that
they may have a real roof over
their heads.

The tensions among the dock-
ers, as the scramble for a dimin-
ishing number of jobs increases,
the heart-searchings of a worker
who is always among “the lucky
ones” and who suspects those in
authority of a nefarious design
to corrupt him,will awaken mem-
ories in workers everywhere who
have lived through similar situa-
tions.

The Communist party is in the
midst of the workers, maintain-
ing their morale and inspiring
and leading their struggle.

= * * *

’

Here is no idealised picture.
All who have worked in a work-
ing-class organisation will warm
to the description of the leading
militants wrestling, not always
skilfully, with gigantic problems.

There is the comrade at an

“open branch meeting complaining

of the character of the political
report:

“The meetings are getting like
kind of complicated schools,
where you study geography
mostly. They’re becoming af-
fairs for léarned people.”

The party organiser discussing
why his speech on the necessity
of stopping the U.S. occupation
of France did not rouse the en-
thusiasm expected:

“From what you’ve said, I see
it was my fault. I only spoke of
the enemy’s moves, as if that
were decisive, as if it was an
offensive. .. . I didn’t say a word
about the fact that they’re the
ones that are already  draw-
ing back under the tremendous
pressure from our side.”

The movement of the workers,
and the impact of the U.S. in-
vasion, begin to affect members
of the middle class. The ex-
customs officer whose house, built
from his savings, is menaced by
the construction of the U.S. base,
and the wife of an ex-sea-captain,
who sees the resemblances be-
tween the U.S. and the Nazi oc-
cupations, are drawn into the
struggle.

= * *

>

THIS BOOK, written by the
editor of L’Humanite, French
Communist daily, is a model of
how a novel of working-class life
and struggle should be written
from the inside!

The characters are not lay fig-

ures but warm, living, errant hu- -

man beings.

There are no long, lumbering
descriptions. The language is
economical and clear, yet gives a
total effect of great power.

Novels of working class life

need not be drab and lifeless. The
struggle and its organisation are
glorious and inspiring.
+ In this work we have an ex-
ample of how the vitality and
everyday heroism of the fight
can be put on paper to strength-
en and encourage all those who
are concerned to bring about a
more glorious future for man-
kind.—J. R. CAMPBELL.

STANTON, MUNRO & DEAN

Barristers - Solicitors - Notaries

FORD BUILDING

(Corner Main & Hastings Sts.)
MARINE 5746

SUITE 515

193 E. HASTINGS

A _new Soviet film now being shown in Vanc>uver, The Battle of Stalingrad, tells the agony a
destruction, and the final victory of Stalingrad, as; expressed in this actual war photo of Nazi soldi

surrendering.

Impressive Soviet film retells

epic struggle at Stalingrad

SOME OF the self-important
yappers who greet every new
Soviet peace gesture with the
parrot-cry that the Russians must
“prove their sincerity” before any
notice is taken of it should see
The Battle of Stalingrad, current-
ly being shown at a number of
labor halls in Vancouver.

This sombre, deeply impressive
films shows how the Russians in
that city “proved their sincerity”
for all time by fighting Hitler’s
war machine to a standstill with
a heroism, tenacity and skill that
sent the name of Stalingrad ring-
ing round the world.

The men who died at Stalin-

Has The Robe special
merits as movie story?

APART FROM the undoubted
success of the new Cinemascope
process in which it is made, has
The Robe, which recently show-
ed in Vancouver, any special
merits as a film story?

I fear not. Cut it down to
standard shape and you’d have
just another standard chunk of
Hollywood Holy Land notable

‘more for the fact that it goes on -

for two-and-a-quarter hours than
for any distinction or originality
of story or dialogue.

The Biblical scene, with noble
Jews talking like the more digni-
fied type of American Senator
and honest’ Romans renouncing
the slave state in which they live
to take part in the struggle of
subversive Christian elements for
a better life, seems to exercise a
particular fascination for Ameri-
can film makers today.

But in between the scenes from
the scriptures and the bouts of
saccharine Early Christian good-
ness, the sword fights, prison res-
cues and love scenes still pro-
vide the main action.

The Robe is a better construct-
ed story than most of its kind. It
creates its own Bible legend
without tampering too much with
existing ones. 7

What it fails to do is to pro-
vide any convincing characteriza-
tion.

Richard Burton struggles to
make his Roman tribune con-
vincing as a man conquered by a

powerful idea. But Jean Simmons.

never even remotely suggests a
Roman maiden with the strength
of character to embrace Chris-
tianity so that she can die with
her fiance.

Cinemascope is an exciting new

process. But it is no substitute .

for ideas and character. —
THOMAS SPENCER.

JEAN SIMMONS
Not even remote suggestion

LES EIS PEE PR

RAEN RANE SLOGAN ILS AAI
MERRY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ALL OUR FRIENDS
DR. R. LLEWELLYN DOUGLAS y
AND ASSOCIATES
Phone PA. 4022 — Suite 3, 712 Robson St., Vancouve a

: ‘most
grad undoubtedly, and in 4 er

direct way, made the world Hi
for these same pundits wh? =)
now sheering at every. ;
peace move.

of the

In the picture it shows
agony and destruction sulferey
by those who withstood the fo
shock of the, German inva ens
this film gives convincing pa
ons' for the sincerity and for
faith of the Russians’ desit@
lasting peace. t

i,
One of the most eters
touches in the film is the 4p ives

confidence and purpose 1
to the chaos of the battlefield :
the contrast of the deliber4
mosphere of the Kremlin, W" ig
Stalin with the genera ing
political leaders are Pl
decisive victory.

eral pictu

Woven into the gen of
of the inch-by-inch defen ie
the city are unforgettable 50 \s
of the heroism of sma tt
of men — the Guards ba +
wiped out to the last mami.
holding up the advanciNS -\ o¢
for vital minutes; the bam” jd.
men who held out in @ big d
ing long after the area a are
had been knocked flat bY
and bombing. ‘ shel .

Music for the film Wa
by the internationally kno jrony
poser Khatchaturian. ar ‘
is that he has given the ™ ‘
Nazis a distorted verted
German tune O Keshing! Flag

the tune to which The

the

is usually sung.

rit B.C. y

lana mananamanana manana manamamamanaanare
IRENA ARENA RA RAG RATA RA RAR TAA AEA

106 E. Hastings

SKIL LEK YIEE PIES IE VE PSR VERS BE Be

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE — DECEMBER 18, 1953 —

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LINWOOD COMPANY

Ladies’ Kimonos, Dressing Gowns, Lounging Pyia™*

ie
Chinese Imported Silk Good, Mens’ Shirts, Gifts. Linger

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se ee 8

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