BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS

Notices and reviews of books, articles, plays and poetry dealing with homosexuality and the sex variant. Readers are invited to send in reviews or printed matter for review.

THIN ICE

London, 1956

Compton Mackenzie

Now in his seventies, and with more books to his credit than years, one would expect Sir Compton Mackenzie to taper off in his writing, to produce the itsy-poo memoirs so typical of senior literati or the polite novels that decorate the book club lists of several continents. Instead, Sir Compton has chosen to work with the political and social hot potato of the deviate in diplomacy, and has succeeded in producing one of the meatiest, if subtlest, of his many fine volumes, THIN ICE is a distinguished, moving and disturbing work of surpassing elegance and style.

THIN ICE is not Sir Compton's first venture into the field. EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN and VESTAL FIRE have both long been held in high regard as serious novels on the homosexual theme. Nor is this his first tilt with the powers that be. In 1932, he was prosecuted by the War Office for his revelations in his memoirs, AEGEAN MEMORIES. Neither has his distinction in other fields kept him from discussing what might be considered generally unpopular: In 1931, he was elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University. He is one of the founders of the Scottish National Party and has been knighted in recent years.

Superficially this is a novel as refined to the eye as a many-layered petit four, with slivers of elegant pastry notched between thin rows of fine creams and jams. The simile is not far-fetched, for THIN ICE has as many levels and is just as rich, calorically, and it is as rewarding to the taste as to the eye.

When he was twenty-two, at the turn of the century, Henry Fortescue, Sir Compton's hero, went off into the desert with his young Arab guide. When he returned he realized that in his chosen field there could be no such thing as discretion: there could be total abstinence or excess, he could not go for years walking on thin ice. Thus, he went into Parliament and began to make his reputation. But there are disappointments even in Parliament and politics, and eventually his discretion began to fall by the waysides as he walked. His capitulation was full and his leap into the gay life of London was made deliberately and with both feet.

Around this kernel are some of the most elegantly drawn characters it has been our pleasure to meet in some time, from his version of the Colonel Blimps of the Empire to those gracious ladies who are the queens of the circulating libraries. But his humor, his sensitivity, and his great ability as a story-teller make THIN ICE not only the season's, but one of Sir Compton's best of his many fine novels.

M. B.

*Long out of print in this country, both VESTAL FIRE and EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN have been made available in Great Britain once again.

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