“A well-constructed, forceful, and ably sustained piece of work. Has given us a picture of Russian conditions which we may accept as essentially correct. Of no small merit from the purely literary standpoint.”
| + + | Outlook. 79: 654. Mr. 11, ‘05. 140w. |
“It would be more exact to characterize this book as a study of Russian social conditions than as a work of fiction, although there is a story as a whole.”
| + | Pub. Opin. 38: 430. Mr. 18, ‘05. 280w. |
“The book is written in an admirable style,—keen, quiet, full of reserve power. The book is a valuable contribution to present-day literature, considered either as fact or fiction. It tells with judgment, with conviction, with emotion, the sad story of a sad people.”
| + + | Reader. 5: 784. My. ‘05. 380w. |
“A book that impresses one with its power, competence, and fairness. It is a profoundly interesting sociological document that the public may thank Mr. Cahan.”
| + + — | R. of Rs. 31 :763. Je. ‘05. 90w. |
Caine, Hall. Prodigal son. [†]$1.50. Appleton.
This latest of Hall Caine’s novels has all the strength and the heart sadness found in his other works. Iceland is the home of the tragic story and its characters are the simple folk of the Northland: the factor and his daughters, Thora and Helga; the old governor and his sons, Magnus and Oscar. Magnus resigns Thora, his promised wife, to Oscar, his more fascinating brother, bearing the odium of the broken betrothal that they may be happy. Helga, however, breaks in upon this dearly bought joy, and wins Oscar’s love. The sad death of Thora and the wanderings of the exiled Oscar are strong and dramatic, and his final return home as the renowned Icelandic composer has not the joy of that first prodigal’s home coming, but holds the full sorrow of the years.