BOOKENDS

THOSE who have read the "The John Riddell Murder Case," "Salt Water Taffy," or the barbed shafts in Vanity Fair will find this book the most amusing thing John Riddell has yet done; those who have not yet become acquainted with his inimitable parodies could find no better introduction. Not a moment of it is dull. In a few words it makes the most honored of our gods ridiculous.

Avowedly inspired by the Shaw-Terry letters, "In the Worst Possible Taste" travesties most of our contempories including G. B. S. and John Riddell themselves. Few escape unscathed. From Gertrude Stein to Floyd ("Hello Everybody") Gibbons, all receive their due. Presumably, the author takes nothing seriously, and because he has this delightfully flippant air, he can got away with a good deal that serious critics would never dare set forth.

Some Harvard professor recently said he thought that as much could be learned about a writer from parodies of him as from his own works, and certainly this is true for the parodies of John Riddell. Beneath the hilarious galaxy of humor there is buried much true and penetrating criticism. For this reason, if not for the pleasure that can be derived from it, the book is of immense value.