There are nine stories of varying length in the present volume. They take you to the corners of the earth--London, Damascus, Spain, the West Indies, the high seas, Central America--and their spirit is well suggested in the title of the collection--_La Vida Es Sueno_. Truly they are such stuff as dreams are made of. Curle's feeling for the colorful word, the precise phrase is remarkable; in a moment one feels almost bodily transported to a strange and fascinating land. And then the story is unfolded--for these are real stories and never mere impressionistic sketches. They may not be about the sort of people you are likely to number among your friends, but they are about very human folk just the same. They have a subtlety that is never too involved and an engaging frankness which is one of Curle's greatest charms. _Old Hoskyns_, almost homely in its simplicity, is a very touching tale. _Going Home_ is an exquisite bit of irony. _The Look Out Man_--slight though it is--is profoundly tragic. In _A Remittance Man_, little by little, like a mosaic, a shrewd, penetrating, and very convincing picture is built up of a man who has lost his grip on life. And so they go--Curle knows the people of his tales so well! He is careful never to tell you too much about them--there is ample opportunity after each narrative for pleasant speculation--but one never feels that the real story he set out to tell has not been fully told. It is equally important that Curle knows intimately the places he chooses as settings for his stories. Most of this knowledge he has gained in his amazingly extensive travels. Aside from North America he has visited almost every corner of the earth. And yet it is none the less very remarkable--this curious ability to paint atmosphere--a talent not too often associated with those who write in English. Conrad has it, and the greater continental writers--and Curle has studied them to advantage. I should have myself to possess this same ability to make you realize the peculiar fascination of such a story as _The Emerald Seeker_. It is a fine and thrilling yarn; no matter that--there are many who can tell a rattling tale. But I doubt if any could approach Curle's masterly sketching of his milieu--a page or two, and in a very real sense you feel yourself in the heart of tropical Central America. Finally and best of all, you know that the color is never there merely for its own sake; there is always a real story to be told and to its telling the background merely adds distinction. It is difficult--trying to show the peculiar charm and interest of Curle's work. But once you read him, it becomes very apparent.