Doctor & Patients

Doctor & Patients

DOCTOR GION--Hans Carossa--Ballou

($2).

Not all fairy tales are for children. And some of the most popular (e. g., W. H. Hudson's Green Mansions) are laid in a realistic setting no naturalist could carp at. Dr. Gion's scene is a modern town, presumably German; its characters do not pretend to be anything but flesh & blood, but its effect is definitely fairy-taleish. A quiet book, of oldfashioned, deferential sentiment and gentle resignation, it should appeal to readers who want a change from "real life."

Dr. Gion was still a fairly young man, but he had been through the War and wanted no more tension; his practice was sufficient and not too exacting. For his most interesting patients medicine could do nothing. Cynthia, who lived just above him, was a young artist of genius who worked out her unhappy conflict into sad clay figures that looked like embryos. Emerence was a beautiful peasant girl from the mountains who looked strapping but whose blood was dangerously thin. Dr. Gion had to advise her not to have her baby, but he sympathized with her when she would not consider an abortion, even though she knew the birth would kill her. Young Toni was a ragamuffin who made a few pennies for his grandmother by peddling sights of the stars through his telescope. His great enemy was a crazy old man who thought Toni was threatening to bombard the town.

Emerence came to the city to have her baby, and died afterwards, as everyone knew she would. The sight of her willing martyrdom made Cynthia a whole person; she began to work happily again. When Toni's grandmother died the doctor adopted him. Toni, reconciled with the crazy old man, gave him his demonstratedly unlethal telescope. Dr. Gion and Cynthia married, lived happily, and kept a parental eye on Toni and Emerence's orphan daughter.

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