ABOUT BOOK

"The Undying Past" has in it all of the complex psychology that Sudermann takes such delight in bringing out in his plays, but the difference here is that all the introspections and the causes that lie far beneath the facts which form the plot of the story are written out at merciless length, instead of being indicated by a passing sentence, a word, a gesture, or the mere force of a powerful stage personality, backed by intelligent comprehension of the character to be portrayed. The result is odd, as what one realizes might carry absolute conviction on the stage, becomes strangely unreal and unconvincing in a novel.