THE CRIMSON BOOKSHELF -FICTION - POETRY

In "Ponjola", Cynthia Stockley has given us a very real and vivid picture of South Africa--its life, and its people. Her intimate knowledge of the locality and her undeniable powers of description have united to make the veldt of Rhodesia live before our eyes. We can see the drab, ramsrackle villages; the deserted mines; the winding, dusty roads. We begin to understand the peculiar fascination which lies in the broad, barren stretches of desert country--a fascination which grips all who make their dwelling there.

Miss Stockley's picture of the people in Rhodesia is equally as fine as her description of the land in which they live. They are a group of outcast English men and women; a hard drinking, excitement seeking lot; each of whom is hoping that some day he may dig a golden fortune from the soil. They represent a wide variety of types, and yet on them all the veldt has its spell, and instead of being normal energetic human beings, they are lethargic lovable neerdowell.

The chief weakness of the book seems to lie in the plot. Lundi Druro, the hero, is rapidly drinking himself to death because his finance married another man. Flavia Desmond, the heroine, has field from the society of London and comes to Rhodesia disguised as a man. She falls in love with Druro and throughout the book tries to save him from self destruction. The story offers nothing new: In fact it is rather trite. Moreover the improbability of a young and beautiful girl, living as a man, and with men over an extended period of time and still keeping her disguise, rather spoils what might otherwise have been a very powerful novel. The description of Rhodesian life and people is so well done however, and Miss Stockley writes so vigorously and so well that "Ponjola" is well worth the reading no matter what may be the fraillties of plot.