THE DEVIL WE KNOW

For the first time, Pamela Frankau has grown up to the mantle of her famous father with a very capable and engrossing novel. She writes extremely well, there is a very real quality to her dialogue, which is perceptive and humorous, and her central character, an extremely self-conscious Jew, is a fine piece of characterization, though to my way of thinking, she has made him an individual rather than the world type she seems to intend him to be. He is arrogant and yet gentle, insulting yet on the defensive, hypersensitive to the verge of being psychopathic, but fundamentally generous and idealistic. He is always banging his head against the wall and undergoing humiliation. It takes a terrific shock to make him realize that his persecution is not racial but within himself -- and that there is love and friendship to be found. This book, in spite of its theme, is not a political protest against dictatorship -- but a good story.