God Is Late is a soul-sickening portrayal of the price of appeasement. The suffering of the Hungarian people under Communist “liberation” is unforgettably depicted here and the book could have had enormous impact had its power not been dissipated through a stubborn insistence on seeing the Hungarians as frightened people, eager to pay any price for survival, obsessed with sex, fear and hatred of one another.
War and the cruelty of Communist occupation are bound to have their effect morally and emotionally as well as physically; but it would be difficult to find more unpleasant characters than those Miss Arnothy has chosen to present her premise that “new times bring new morals.” What happens to Gaby, intent upon her own desires and pleasures, does not seem very important while putrefying corpses litter the streets and the radio announces the death sentences passed that day. Her sordid affair with the Commissar does not arouse much sympathy despite the ever-present threat of the blue card which means deportation. Nor is Janos, her husband, any more admirable. Eager to please the Commu-
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