The Great Gatsby. Directed by Marc Bruni, libretto by Kait Kerrigan, Jason Howland, and Nathan Tysen, performances by Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada, The Broadway Theater, 2024.

We have never reviewed a theatrical production in these spaces, although we have made a few stage notes from time to time about productions we were involved with. This is different, though, because we have reviewed numerous works related to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. This is going to take a little different approach. It is not so much a review as an observation about the adaptation.

We saw the show at the Broadway Theater in New York. It is on its first run and still has the original cast. It got the audience on its side right from the beginning. After an overture with some dance, Nick Carraway begins the narrative exactly as the book does: “In my younger and more vulnerable years…” but when he tells how he ended up on Long Island, he says, “Manhattan was too expensive.” That got a big laugh from the New York audience. I think that won the audience over.

We should note a couple of things. First, The Great Gatsby entered the public domain in the United States three years ago. Since then, there have been multiple editions of the book and a few other adaptations, of which this musical is the best known, if not the best. Second, any stage or film adaptation ought to be a spectacle because Gatsby’s parties were. This is no exception.

This musical has lots of visual appeal. The sets echo an art nouveau style which works well. The costumes dazzle. The costumes for the dance and party scenes must contain over a million sequins. The choreography was great. A couple of the dance numbers were by themselves worth the price of admission, especially the two numbers that tapped and a clever dimly-lit song and dance number featuring gangster Meyer Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson) called “Shady.”

The entr’acte and outdoor set piece was an evening view across the harbor with an occulting green light. Two songs focused on this, both sung by Gatsby and Daisy, one called “Green Light” and one called “Go.” In all the time I have taught the novel, and the amount of literary criticism I have read about it, it simply never dawned on me that the green light can simply represent (among other things) a traffic signal telling Gatsby to go. We see it more as a symbol of longing and something unattainable (as in the classic baseball essay “Green Light, Green Monster”). But we see that Gatsby has worked some things out in his mind, and he truly wants to go and pursue his lost love.

Now I have seen most of the Gatsby films over the years except for the 1974 one with Redford and Farrow. I believe this adaptation was superior to any of the films for one reason—the acting. There also was a touch of humor. The spectacle was equal to the 2013 film with DiCaprio. Partly because it was a live performance, one could sense real chemistry between Gatsby and Daisy (Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada).

The three main actresses all did an effective job. The role of Daisy is difficult to do well. The film versions tend to portray her as a pretty face, an image that Gatsby falls for. Here both the writing and the acting made Daisy’s personality come alive. In the scene at the Plaza Hotel right before the accident when Daisy cries out to Gatsby, “Oh, you want too much!” it hurts. We know that Tom Buchanan is a cad and a brute, but Gatsby has put more pressure on Daisy than she can handle. She is real, though in the end she “sounds like money.”

Dariana Mullen, who played Myrtle Wilson, also was quite effective. We see her torn between her husband’s plan to settle down out West and her relationship with Tom, which she knows in her heart will go nowhere in spite of the exciting escape she has with him.

The role of Jordan Baker (Samantha Pauly) was either rewritten or more heavily adapted from the novel. In the 1925 novel there is only the insinuation of sex between Daisy and Gatsby because they spend afternoons alone together. In this production, Jordan comes on strong to Nick and the implication is that their relationship is also sexual. There is nothing in the novel to hint that—not that Nick reveals a whole lot about himself in the novel.

I noted in another review that all the film productions (except the missing 1926 silent film) of The Great Gatsby portray Daisy as a blonde, even though the book says she had brown hair. Well, in this production she is neither blonde or brunette. She has black hair. It is a minor observation and does not detract from the show at all. One could argue that it was closer to the original.

One interesting touch which makes the stage adaptation more compact is that George Wilson’s garage becomes a transshipment point for Meyer Wolfsheim’s bootleg products. Also in this version Wolfsheim puts more pressure on Gatsby to produce. In the novel, he seems more proud of the fact that he made Gatsby what he is. Still, that adds some dramatic tension to this show.

The 2013 film version was criticized by some because with one exception none of its music was from the Roaring Twenties. There was no jazz to speak of. While all the songs and music are original to this Broadway production, they sound like they could have come from the nineteen-twenties. Many are jazzy, some with tap dancing. The mellower songs have more of a timeless appeal that could have been from any era. The music works.

The way that even popular Broadway musicals affect the culture has changed. Through at least the 1960s, popular theater songs became pop hits. I can think of songs like “Ol’ Man River,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Do, a Deer,” or “People.” That does not appear to be the case any more. I had a number of students who loved Hamilton, for example, but I do not recall them singing songs from the show. A song from this show that caught the audience was a vigorous dance number, “Roaring On,” with the line “The party never stops.” The song “Shady” certainly was the most distinctive in the way it was danced with the dancers all wearing fedoras and dark dusters on a dimly lit stage.

In the novel, Gatsby first kisses Daisy on a sidewalk where there are no trees so he can see her in the moonlight. This version says he first kissed her under a weeping willow. The lighting suggesting a weeping willow drooping from the ceiling is clever, if not a spectacle itself. That works also because of the well-established symbol of the willow as sorrowful, and, of course, it foreshadows weeping to come.

The spectacle includes a couple of cars, Tom’s blue roadster and Gatsby’s yellow Rolls. The edge of the stage converts to the side of a swimming pool with the subtle use of aqua-blue light and some pool ladders. And, yes, there are fireworks. Just as I am sure for safety reasons the automobiles were electric (stage notes say the chasses were from golf carts), the fireworks were projected. All told, it was quite a show.

As a bonus to readers and students of The Great Gatsby, the next entry is a set of links to various features that may help you appreciate the book more, including the songs mentioned in the book.

Anne Brontë. Agnes Grey. 1847; Project Gutenberg, 2021.

For a shorter review see Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Brontë sisters are among the best known literary families, even thought their output is quite small. I consider Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights two of the most conscientiously written works of fiction ever created. Jane Eyre not only tells a dramatic romance, but it has many literary allusions which add great depth to the tale. Wuthering Heights not only describes an intense family drama, but is one of the most tightly written novels ever crafted.

I have also read Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which I found interesting, a nice story but lacking the depth of either Charlotte’s or Emily’s work I just mentioned. An acquaintance who is both a reader and writer of historical romances told me that Agnes Grey was her favorite of all the Brontë oeuvre. I had to check it out.

For those who are looking for literary depth and quality, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are superior. They are hard to match. Having said that, Agnes Grey was fun. Indeed, it was not so much like the stories of Anne’s sisters but written in the mold of Jane Austen.

Agnes narrates her story, and as she is now “above eighteen,” she wants to go out on her own. She hires herself out as a governess. Hints of Jane Eyre? Perhaps, but Agnes’s experience is probably more typical.

As I began reading it, I began to understand why the person I knew liked it. She has worked as a nanny and in early childhood education. The kids in the first family Agnes works for are spoiled brats. Indeed, when I think both of this book and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the British aristocracy does not come off too well in Anne’s stories—unlike, say, Jane Eyre where Jane’s soulmate is the aristocratic Rochester.

Agnes leaves and takes a second job where the youths she tutors are both teenaged girls or young women. The eldest has her début in the story and (very slight spoiler) ends up marrying a lord. Meanwhile, Agnes is developing a crush on the curate, or assistant minister, of the local church. This is where the humor really comes in. Any of us, male or female, who have had a crush can identify with the awkwardness and self-consciousness Agnes displays. How forward can one be without being immodest or making a fool of oneself?

I recall reading that Anne wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in response to Wuthering Heights (note the initials). The main male character in that story, if I recall, was meant to echo Heathcliff, if Heathcliff were wimpy and unappealing. While Agnes Grey, like Jane Eyre, is a first person story about a governess, I don’t think that it was written in reaction to Charlotte’s novel.

Having said that, Jane’s experience with her job as governess was much different. She had a single charge, the young Adèle, who had learned some manners and was generally respectful. Agnes’s experiences were likely more typical and realistic. I am sure that is one reason why the writer I mentioned liked it. And, of course, the humor provides its own entertainment. A fan of Emma or Pride and Prejudice would enjoy Agnes Grey.

I also appreciated the last line in the story. It might not be quite as dramatic as Jane Eyre’s final “Reader, I married him” chapter or as romantic as the parallel descriptions of both Catherines side by side with their respective lovers in Wuthering Heights, but it is hard to duplicate. More writers should probably think the way Agnes/Anne concludes her story. You will smile.

Brett McCracken. The Wisdom Pyramid. Crossway, 2021.

If readers analyze the cover of The Wisdom Pyramid, they can get a sense of what this book is about. Its subtitle is Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World. There is picture of a pyramid shaped object with some interior shelves. On each of the six shelves there are objects that illustrate what the book is about. The author deliberately borrows from the Department of Health’s Food Pyramid, but instead of food groups, there are things that feed our minds.

After a few chapters on “post-truth” and relativism, the author raises obvious questions, what are we to believe? How are we to know what is true? His solution is the Wisdom Pyramid.

In this case, the order is important. The first shelf or floor of the pyramid provides the base for the others. Each higher shelf is a bit narrower, like the Food Pyramid to indicate something we do not need as much of. The top of the Food Pyramid, for example, has sweets and fats. We do need some of those things, but only in moderation or we will be unhealthy. Similarly, at the top of the Wisdom Pyramid is the Internet and social media. Too much of those things are likewise unhealthy for our minds or our souls.

It is simple enough to summarize or outline the pyramid. The author, though, does have wise things to say about each level, each step. While written specifically for a Christian audience, I believe others can benefit from it as well.

The foundation or base is the Bible. That is the revealed word of the Creator of the Universe. It is truly universal. If we dismiss or disregard it, we do so at the detriment of ourselves, our families, and our cultures. As one writer put it years ago, it is the manufacturer’s handbook.

Next comes the church. The author recognizes that all churches have imperfections, but we need other people for support, for learning, for teaching, and for accountability. Our culture, especially younger people, have a reputation for being lonely. We need people. What is better than others who are also seeking God and His ways?

Next comes nature. Scriptures such as Psalm 19 and Romans 1 describe the importance of nature. The author, for example, cites The Last Child in the Woods, a book this reviewer heartily recommends. (I reviewed it before I started this blog). People need nature. They need to see that they are a part of nature, and that we can learn much from nature’s patterns, laws, and variety. We need time there.

Next come books and reading. The author here suggests, of course, classics, books that have stood the test of time and still make us think. Yes, there is a place for fiction and poetry as well. This is another way we learn things and become wiser. Many times God Himself uses stories or narrative to convey His truth.

Next come other art forms. This includes music, visual arts, even film—at least sometimes and in moderation. Arts speak to us in nonverbal ways that can be important. Yes, some things can be mere entertainment, but there is a lot to learn. Many times we remember the lyrics to a song or the image from a work of art in way that transcends merely reading or hearing something.

Finally, at the top and on a narrow shelf, comes the Internet and mass media. I recall a book editor twenty years ago telling me that ninety percent of what was on the Internet was garbage. I am sure she has not changed her mind unless to raise the percentage. Unfortunately, many things on the Internet have become a distraction, and often an unhealthy one at that. I will go so far as to say that if you were to tell me that you are going to read this blog less and spend more time outdoors or reading the Bible, I would not object one bit.

The world needs wise people. Wisdom takes time to grow. Let’s move on with stable thinking. Take this book with you and learn from it. As I write this, an organization the author writes for is offering a free download of The Wisdom Pyramid. A wise person would take advantage of the opportunity. After all, wisdom is “more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 3:15). Such a deal!

Sandra Brettig. Unfit to Serve. Elk Lake, 2024.

Recently we reviewed a book whose main character struggled with “shell shock,” now called PTSD, after serving in World War I. Unfit to Serve has a main character who is trying to help men suffering from what was then officially called battle fatigue in the wake of that war.

The title can apply to several people. First, Unfit to Serve can apply to the victims of PTSD, that they are no longer mentally or emotionally fit to serve in the military. It also applies specifically to Dr. Albigence “Albie” Pembrooke. He failed the army physical due to poor eyesight, but volunteers for the Medical Corps since he is an M.D. and psychiatrist specializing in battle fatigue.

As can happen in a situation where there are a lot of men who are looking for physical challenges, some people see their job to harass others. So our nearsighted doctor becomes the victim a camp bully. How will he deal with this? After all, he studied psychology, he should know how people behave. Eventually Dr. Pembrooke (Capt. Pembrooke) will be sent to France to minister to men coming back from the front lines with shell shock.

But there are other men who are unfit to serve as well. Many men who volunteered for the army are semiliterate. Some are immigrants whose native language is not English. They fail the I.Q. test that the army gives to all recruits.

As an aside, the first such test was conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces at this time. The concept was picked up by the American military during the war, and by the College Board in 1926 for a test that would evolve into the S.A.T. fifteen years later. The book includes a page each from two of the earliest such tests.

Albie’s wife Josephine, “Jo,” teaches at the one-room grammar school on the Texas base. After hours she tutors some of the soldiers to try to help them pass the intelligence test. While everyone realizes she is a good teacher, she does not seem to fit in well with the more socially-oriented officers wives on the base. Is she unfit to serve as an army wife? We see a parallel between the social snubs she senses and the outright bullying experienced by her husband.

More conflict comes. One of the men Jo has been tutoring dies by apparent suicide. Rumors spread that there was something more than tutoring going on between the two. Bookish Albie is trying to learn all he can about battle fatigue before being sent abroad. Once in France, Albie and Jo quit sending letters to each other.

Chapters alternate between Albie’s perspective and Jo’s perspective. Plot twists keep on happening right up until the end. When they arrived at the Texas army base, New Yorkers Albie and Jo not only deal with unfamiliar desert weather and landscape, but with a number of other external problems. Those external problems like the bullying and the rumors test them and their marriage.

When they arrive, they are still virtual honeymooners. With all these challenges, plus others we will not mention for fear of spoiling things, one can begin to wonder if their marriage will survive—and if so, how? We can learn some history form this story, but we can learn more as well about human relations and the importance of hope, both for shell-shocked soldiers and married couples.

Eric Metaxas. Letter to the American Church. Salem Books, 2022.

We have reviewed a few books by Eric Metaxas. Letter to the American Church borrows a little from If You Can Keep It, but relies most heavily on research the author did a number of years ago on the life of Dietrich Bonhoffer.

The first part of Letter to the American Church provides some detail on why only a minority of the Christians in Germany opposed Nazism. It was not because Hitler was a Christian (see our review of Ibsen and Hitler). It was because the church in Germany (both Catholic and Protestant) had become skeptical of the Bible.

Instead of people living lives according to biblical precepts, they began picking and choosing what parts they wanted to believe. Once relativism sets in, moral relativism soon follows. This was written before the recent nationwide demonstrations supporting the Palestinian attempts at “eradicating” Jews, but such things, especially at colleges, remind us that Metaxas’ message is not to be ignored.

While the church is not in itself a political organization—and the American First Amendment protects its people and activities—neither is the Bible apolitical. While the Bible exhorts us to pray for and respect those in authority, it also reminds us that there are such things as unjust laws and sinful acts. Yes, Paul apologized for calling the high priest a name, but Moses’ family rightly disobeyed the pharaoh’s unjust law calling for the murder of baby boys.

Things have changed in Metaxas’ day, however. A hundred years ago many Fundamentalists saw even voting as a compromise with an evil system. That is no longer the case. Still, he warns, many see evangelism as the only job of the church. He then asks, what did Jesus mean when He said “make disciples”? After all, our actions show what we really believe, regardless of what we say we believe. Metaxas says God is not fooled. Or as a friend who had a street ministry put it, “You can’t con God.”

Metaxas tells of a conversation he had with a Christian leader and preacher who boasted that he was careful not to discuss any issues that might get him canceled. He said he only spoke about Gospel issues. Metaxas challenged him.

It never occurred to him that by playing such a game, he was making it more difficult for people in a free society to speak the truth, and that this ability to speak truth freely and without fear is indeed a “Gospel issue.” (82)

After all, he tells us, no one cared more about evangelism than William Wilberforce, but he also cared about abolishing the slave trade. (85)

Metaxas noted this after listing numerous injustices we see in our country today (84). He believes that most people seem to be silent or intimidated about such things today.

The last chapter the author notes the courage of President Reagan when he challenged, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” He knew that no place was free if its government had to build a wall to keep its people from leaving. He also realized that the Soviet Union was “built on a lie,” and was therefore unsustainable. Communist theory is a lie. It does not work and is not true. (For a bit more on this see his Is Atheism Dead?)

You see, Metaxas explains that the Soviet Union “like all bullies” presented itself stronger than it actually was. God is greater. His truth endures. Let us not see the American church, America’s Christians, “wimp out.” As the Lord told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Stephen L. Carter. The Emperor of Ocean Park. Vintage, 2002.

For a shorter review see: The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Emperor of Ocean Park is one of the best written contemporary novels I have read. The author knows how to write well—and tell a story. I have known about Professor Carter from his nonfiction work, but this, his first novel, is also a gem.

The story grabs the reader right away. Unlike most novels, it is written in the present tense, but this is not an affectation. It is written mostly from the point of view of Talcott Garland, a professor at a stand-in for Yale Law School, where Carter actually teaches. Much of the story is set in Elm Harbor, Connecticut. New Haven is nicknamed the Elm City, and Haven means “harbor.”

On one level The Emperor of Ocean Park is a mystery. It is a complicated one, but a mystery nevertheless. Talcott’s father was a Federal judge and in the running for a Supreme Court position. However, his college roommate was Jack Ziegler, “Uncle Jack” to Talcott and his brother and two sisters. Though never convicted of a crime, Ziegler was associated with known criminal organizations, and when a former clerk of Judge Talcott—even his own kids call him the Judge—testified of his relationship with Ziegler during the Judge’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his nomination was withdrawn.

When the Judge dies, Ziegler shows up at the burial service and asks Talcott about his father’s “arrangements.” It is clear he was not talking about his will and how his estate would be distributed. Other people ask Talcott, and his brother and sister the same thing. His brother Addison, a womanizing talk-show host, and sister Mariah, a happy and wealthy suburban mother, both prefer not to know anything about this, but Talcott has to find out.

The Talcott family belongs to the black elite. Ocean Park is a section of Martha’s Vineyard where the family has a summer home. Growing up, they lived in Washington, D.C., in an upscale neighborhood and attended Sidwell Friends School. Readers may recognize that the children of a number of American Presidents attended that school, and that former President Obama owns property on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the Massachusetts coast.

For readers from other parts of the country who make no association about the Vineyard, Talcott drops names when describing one island hangout: Bill Clinton, Jackie O, Spike Lee, and Ellen Holly, “the pioneering black actress.”

While all the active characters in this novel are fictional, we are reminded from time to time of different political events because of the Judge’s stature and residence in the national capital. One of the strengths of this book is the social and political commentary that accompanies it. Different characters, of course, have different views of the law and society, so their comments make for interesting reading.

Because most of the main characters are black, the novel gives the reader an idea of how black people think and feel about America. Since they are the black elite—professors, judges, bankers—they can be said to have achieved the American Dream. Still, they are aware that they are a distinctive group. The Judge called them the darker nation and white people the paler nation.

But the commentary is not simply about racial identity. There is much on law and on law schools. The novel does a good job in illustrating the politics of campus personnel—gossip, rivalries, and so on. Chapter nine begins with a long single-sentence paragraph describing his “under-educated but deeply committed Phi Beta Kappa ideologues” who make up the student body of his elite law school.

Not only are there several different people besides Uncle Jack curious about the judge’s arrangements, whatever they are, but there is also plenty of family drama. His sister Abby was killed by a hit-and-run driver when she was a teenager. It took a few years for the Judge to get over her death.

Talcott also suspects his wife has been unfaithful. Still, the Professor recognizes the importance of the family as the building block for society.

Two parents who actually love each other might be an interesting and radical beginning, but the mere suggestion that the traditional household might be good for children offends so many different constituencies that hardly anyone is willing to raise it any longer. Which further suggests, as George Orwell knew, that within a generation or two nobody will think it either. What survives is only what we are able to communicate. Moral knowledge that remains secret eventually ceases to be knowledge. (228)

Two people whom Talcott trusts are both Christian people. One is a clergyman who counsels him. Another becomes involved in a plot he dreams up. He teases her about the fundamentalist Methodist church she attends.

Carter (or Garland) can also be ironic when describing cultural scenes. He describes the culture’s “lurch” from integration, to “ethnic tribalism to diversity to multiculturalism to whatever it is we call the unbridled celebration of self…”(311).

Professor Garland would, for reasons I am not going to spoil, becomes momentarily famous and so is asked to speak at his law school’s graduation. If you read nothing else in this book, read his speech (pp. 582-583). While it is primarily about the legal profession, it applies to all of us.

One could say the same thing about the whole book. I sense that Professor Carter bled while writing this novel. The heart comes through. It is a terrific legal thriller, but it is something more. It is work of literature that deserves staying around. Thanks for writing this one, Professor.

M. C. Beaton. Death of a Glutton. St. Martin’s, 1993.
_____. Death of a Poison Pen. Warner, 2004.

As many readers can guess from the author and titles, these are two Hamish Macbeth mysteries. Beaton takes two different approaches in telling these mysteries.

Death of a Glutton is an earlier Macbeth tale. It was number eight in the series. From the title we know who is going to be killed from nearly the first page. Peta Gore is an extreme overeater. She loves food and cannot get enough. And her manners are gross. From the title we know she is going to get knocked off, but it does not happen until about halfway through the book.

This is at its heart a closed room mystery. In this case Maria Worth runs a upper-class dating agency. Peta is her wealthy silent partner. However, recently Peta has invited herself on the service’s excursions, and her manners have ruined the gatherings. Maria decides to secretly take a group to an obscure location to avoid Peta. She chooses the Tommel Castle Hotel in Lochdubh.

So we meet the eight clients on this trip, four men and four women, all sufficiently wealthy and all single. Peta somehow finds out about the trip and shows up in Lochdubh after all. So half the book shows how she offends every one of those eight customers, Maria, and the hotel’s cook. By the time she is killed—in a manner appropriate for a glutton—there are many suspects.

Hamish, of course, will have to solve the mystery with the usual collection of human obstacles like ex-fiancée Priscilla, who is back in town to help out at the hotel run by her father and, of course, Inspector Blair, Hamish’s superior from Strathbane who is looking for a way to discredit Hamish. The caricatures in this one make it a lot of fun.

One interesting detail from this episode: we briefly meet Willie Lamont for the first time. He will become a regular in the Macbeth stories as he marries the daughter of the owner of the Italian restaurant in town, but that happens much later.

Death of a Poison Pen, twentieth in the series, is different. Two murders happen as the story begins. Blair ends up being a problem here as well. He wants to write off the first as a suicide, but Hamish explains how the facts do not measure up. The medical examiner’s discovery of drugs in the victim’s body vindicates Hamish and irritates Blair. The murders and much of the action take place in nearby Braikie rather than Lochdubh.

Someone has been sending poison pen letters to many of the people in Braikie. Indeed, one of those letters was found with the body of the popular postmistress. Hamish has collected many of the letters. Most of the letters are lies but they carry insinuations that might affect people’s reputations.

Soon after, a second woman in town is stabbed to death in bed. Clearly this is no suicide. It turns out the victim was the author of those nasty letters. And then when the senior center in town is having a movie night, someone send the center a video tape of the first victim in her death throes.

This is a very different kind of investigation. It includes many of the people in town from the teachers in the local school, boys who spend too much time on the street, and nearly everyone else. After all, everyone in town knew the teacher and the postmistress. Who had grudges against them? While the teacher was pretty heavy-handed, everyone seems to have liked the postmistress. Were the murders even related, or was it just a coincidence that a letter written by victim #2 was found next to victim #1?

There are a couple of enjoyable subplots. News reporter Elspeth is assigned a very ambitious intern to tutor, but Mallone wants all the glory to himself so he can get a job with a big-city paper. Priscilla’s London roommate Jenny Ogilve has heard so much about Hamish, Priscilla’s ex-fiancé, that she decides to take a vacation to Lochdubh to meet this interesting character. Let’s just say that it gets complicated.

In this mystery Hamish has Lugs. In the earlier one, his dog was still Towser. Sonsie was not yet part of the picture in either. Both are entertaining stories as much as they are mysteries.

I have to mention a discovery I made. I was curious about other Hamish Macbeth titles I had not read so I did a web search. I found an absolutely compulsive web site that lists all the books in hundreds of book series from Sherlock Holmes to Alex Cross. It is called Book Series in Order. It has them all, including Hamish. I had to check out Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan and others by Burroughs like John Carter of Mars.

Without a doubt in my mind, the series with the most books is the Hardy Boys. They have been cranking them out, several a year, since 1927. I wondered how Hamish could live through all the changes of seasons described in his books and still only be in his thirties. But one really has to ask how Frank and Joe Hardy could have solved over 500 mysteries (some with Tom Swift, others with Nancy Drew) and still be boys! Anyway, to have some fun, check out the lists at Book Series in Order.

Zane Grey. The Call of the Canyon. 1921; Black, 1952.

Many years ago we read Riders of the Purple Sage and thoroughly enjoyed it. On vacation, we came across an old copy of another Zane Grey book that had gone through a number of editions and decided to read it. It was fun to read, and like Riders, it was quite pointed.

The Call of the Canyon is set immediately after World War I. Many soldiers in that war, including a number of Americans, suffered from life-altering injuries, lingering effects of poison gas, and shell shock—now known as PTSD. Glenn Kilbourne was a young New Yorker and veteran of the war who was dealing with shell shock.

His fiancée from home remained faithful to him, and they continued to correspond, but when he returned with his PTSD, neither he nor his betrothed, Carley Burch, knew how to respond. While they did not break the engagement, Glenn thought it better if he go west to try to heal on his own. They continued to correspond, but as he wrote about life in the Arizona wilderness, they both realized that he had changed. He healed, but he also saw things a lot differently from what he did before the war as city boy.

Grey narrates the entire story from Carley’s point of view. She does try to understand the new Glenn and the American West, but wants to see things for herself. She is independently wealthy. She has an aunt who is the closest thing to a mentor and parent, and she has numerous friends, mostly socialites from the urban upper classes of the 1920s. There is indeed a Fitzgerald-style character to many of them, more The Beautiful and Damned than Gatsby. In other words, Carley and her set have already arrived.

Carley has to face a truly existential question. What is really important in life? She goes west by train and ends up in the canyon staying with a family that lives near Glenn. Glenn works for a sheep rancher and also raises hogs on his own. As he and Carley become reacquainted, he tells her how he recovered and how he discovered what is really important—work, family, and children.

Carley is what we would today call a first generation feminist. Of course, women now had the vote when the war ended, so they begin to see “liberation” as freer lifestyles, freer clothing styles, and freedom from housekeeping. In other words, it is something that the upper classes can live with, but which brings disorder to the lives of ordinary people, just as shell shock brought disorder to ordinary American men.

Among other things, Glenn asks what does it mean to be American? For him, the answer is not in New York City but in the West. The American government who recruited and drafted all the soldiers and sailors in the war did very little to help them after the war. For the most part they were on their own. Grey highlights the stories of a few other war veterans including a friend of Glenn’s whom Carley meets in a New York hospital and a sailor who marries one of Carley’s friends.

While this has elements of a Western—typical Zane Grey—and even elements of a romance—there is another woman in the story—at its heart The Call of the Canyon is a social satire. It takes on a very different sensibility from Fitzgerald or Hemingway, but it is as much a part of the literary period as those two writers.

Grey also is quite literate here. Carley and Glenn are both well educated. We see allusions to the Bible, Shakespeare, and various other writers and poets just as we would in other novels from the jazz age. The end may be a tad tidier than others from the period, but Grey is making a strong point. There are still many Carleys and her ilk today. And not a few Glenns. What does it really mean to be a man or a woman? Or an American? How can we make peace with ourselves and with the natural world?