A Stranger Came to Port by Max Miller. Reynal and Hitchcock (1938), 210 pp.
Dave Hardson is laid up on his San Diego houseboat with a punctured leg. He abandoned his life as a successful Minneapolis businessman a year before at the age of fifty. Keeping up the entrepreneurial spirit had become too difficult because of high taxes, pushy unions, and public animosity toward commerce. Until now no one has known where he was. The accident has blown his cover, however, and his laid-back lifestyle is in danger.
Since Hardson can’t move without assistance from his friend Lobster Johnny, the story is something less than action packed. Most of it consists of his thoughts -- observations of the environment, ruminations about life, stories about Johnny, and memories of the ill-fated stint on a tuna boat. Sometimes Harden has visitors, all of whom turn out to be pleasant and undemanding. The novel itself has those same qualities, though it does end with an ironic twist. The book is short and reads quickly. It may well appeal to those who dream of spending their lives hanging out at the beach.
