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THE ATHENAEUM 15 Literary Notes BATOUALA By Vaughn Payne, ’25. c /tT HE starkly realistic novel, Batouala, has been read by some of us already. It is the product of six years of intensive work on the part of Rene’ Maran, a Negro of the French Colonial Empire. For the literary talent exhibited by him in this book he was awarded recently the Goncourt Prize, which is an indication of profound distinction and achievement in the field of literature. The author of this strange, superb work has served for some years as a French Colonial official. It Was while serving in this capacity that he was inspired to write. The scene or setting of this novel is laid in the French Congo, where Maran was stationed by the French govemnient. It is almost without plot. The author, as a means of binding together the scenes of savage Africa, uses the character, Batouala, the Mokoundji, chief of niany villages. He sketches the natural surroundings and the physical conditions of native life with extraordinary vividness. He also describes a native dance, a hunt and a funeral of an old man. These pictures are presented with so ipjuch literary skill that they live in the mental vision of the reader. By reading this real and exhortic work we are brought face to face with condi tions as they exist savage Africa. One can hardly doubt that he de scribes things as they are, because he lived in that section where the scene was laid. This work is note-worthy not only because of its mere literary value, but also because it is the literary product of a descendant of some genera tions of Martinique Negroes. .. Batouala with its many points of excellence will live on by the simple, powerful story that it tells. THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE By G. J. Van Buren, *23. YES, Morehouse College is keeping abreast of the times, not withstanding the fact that new ideas and inventions are being bom over night. Through the efficient laboratory equipment, furnished in the New Science Hall, Morehouse stand in class A, recognized by the ATTENTION! Please Trade With Our Advertisers.