THE DOUBTFUL YEAR

    The Doubtful Year by John LeBar. Appleton (1928), 275 pp.
    This could have been an interesting novel. Allen Stewart, just graduated from the architecture school at Cal., is on his way to Los Angeles to begin his career. He’s a real go-getter, convinced that dedication and diligence will bring success. On the road he picks up Ronold Danby, whose car has gone into a ditch. Danby, who lives from one “project” to another, suggests that Allen join him in a curative light-filament scam. Strapped for cash, Allen agrees. They go off to see Dr. Ballard, Danby’s former physics professor, to get a little scientific information about the filaments. He doesn’t encourage them in their scheme, but does introduce them to his beautiful daughter, Carol. Meanwhile, Allen has rented an apartment from Danby’s friend, Emma Bennett, and met her teenage son Tony, who is deaf and neglected but very bright. Subsequent events alter the lives of Allen and his new acquaintances.
    LeBar might have used the story to depict Los Angeles through its architectural potpurri. But neither the city nor its buildings figure much in the book. Instead, readers get a generic tale that could take place anywhere. It begins by describing the adventures of a young man just out of college. Unfortunately, the author has no ability to develop the character of his protagonist (or anyone else). So he turns his attention to the more inherently interesting Danby and his various schemes. The plot takes some surprising (if implausible) twists before the inevitable happing ending. The novel offers no more than light entertainment. It’s still readable today, but it’s unlikely to interest more than a handful of modern readers.