Page Four
THE MICHIGAN UAiLY
Sunday, February 9, t ,; t5
Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, Febrt.jary~, v~u3
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
HIATT INSTITUTE-ISRAEL
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Also open to qualified students for
the Spring Term only..
Juniors and Seniors eligible.
Earn 16 credits per semester.
Financial aid available.
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BOOKS
3
1
Malcolm on America: A sharp-eyed
reporter encounters the vast heartland
FOR INFORMATION
WRITE:
The Jacob Hiatt Ins
'Brandeis University
Waltham, Mass. 02
stitute
154
UNKNOWN AMERICA, by Andrew H. Malcolm. New York:
Quadrangle Books, 301 pp., $10.00.
By JUDY RUSKIN
J ALWAYS WANTED to have Andrew Malcolm's job.
He is the Charles Kuralt of the newspaper world. Much like
CBS's Kuralt, Malcolm spends his time traveling across the
country looking for out-of-the-way people and places to write
about. And like Kuralt's "On the Road" pieces, Malcolm's fea-
tures for the New York Times have a subtle wit and style all
their own.
Filed from such intriguing places as West Frostproof,
Flridn Gnnd Th dnl~ Mi nsnta ndriSanta Class- Indiana.
bureaucracy and saved the town's steam whistle.
While from Metropolis, Illinois, he writes about the citizenry's
efforts to promote their town by hyping their most famous resi-
dent-Superman.
His style, in itself, is delightful. With a few well chosen
phrases, he conveys an encompassing atmosphere. A lovely, subtle
sense of humor filters to the surface of his work. His descriptions
and characterizations may never evoke a belly laugh but are
almost always good for a smile and a few chuckles.
As lovely as Malcolm's individual pieces are, Unknown
America fails as a book. The separate parts do not join together
to form a cohesive whole. They remain isolated and apart,
CENTER FOR SOUTH & SOUTHEASTERN
ASIAN STUDIES.
DAVID G. MARR
of Indochina Resource Center,
author of Vietnamese Anticolonialism
FEB. 10
SEMI NAR: "The DRV Views
Modern Vietnrmese History"
12 NOON--2407 MASON HALL
LECTURE: "Agriculture and.
Industry: Hanoi Views
the Future"
3 P.M.-AUD. A, ANGELL HALL
r iJ I~a, oJUUU 11unUel.' r, n1U1i1.Ll e f WHILE THESE STORIES are of perfect length, if not a trifle
Unknown America is a collection of Malcolm's articles as they long, for newspaper use, many of them are disatisfyingly
appeared in the Times over the last several years. songkform.eSoersemayeo fe t rdalsymgvy
Each piece, none of which exceeds 1100 words, captures the short i book form. Some seem to be over before they really ever
mood of Malcolm's locale. His stories are not just about places get underway. And it is highly disconcerting to turn the page and
but about the people who inhabit them-about how they live and suddenly jump from Chicago to Memphis to Coon Rapids, Iowa.
how they work. The book is divided into four parts, each part corresponding
Never condescending in his treatment, Malcolm presents a to a season. But it is a mistake to read these stories straight
candid glimpse of an America most of us have never seen. His through from spring to winter. Malcolm uses various phrases and
tn gised oth feelings of warm affection for those he has techniques in several of his features. Although they first appear
fresh and lively, numerous repetition tends to dull their edge.
met and talked with. , i r1,, i- .
WRITING FROM Hiland, Wyoming, Malcolm tells of Betty
Evenson, a 63 year old widow who "peddles gas, ham and
passion-not necessarily in that order." She is the entire popula-
tion of this Western town and runs the gas station, the post office,
and a ham sandwich stand. And on the side she writes true con-
fession stories like "Doing Without Sex Did Her In," "At 14 I
Already Had a Past," and "His Looks Raped Me."
In several stories, Malcolm catches the rhythms and nuiances
of small town living. From Canton, Illinois, he describes how one
group of local residents successfully battled the Washington
To fully appreciate Malcolm's work, one should read it lei-
surely and at intervals. Best results can be achieved by skipping
from section to section, mixing together stories from each section.
By its very nature, Unknown America can be put down, picked
up again several weeks later without ill effect.
Despite its faults this collection is worth owning. Malcolm's
style and view of America are charming and refreshing. Taken
one at a time or in small doses, the pieces are as delightful to
read as they must be to write.
Judy Ruskin retires today as the Daily's Managing Editor.
Nikitc in the cornfields of
Coon Rapids
AC.UNOON' 3-G
SUMMER '75
EUROPEAN PROGRAM
WE FEATURE:
e ROUND TRIP FLIGHTS TO
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MARCH 15, 1975
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT
TRAVEL
Durrell's dazzling new novel
shows all that glitters isn't gold
Apathy cripples
this Generation
MONSIEUR by Lawrence
Durrell, New York: The Vik-
ing Press, 305 pp., $8.95.
not much. After a while, those cludes stare-downs with a pink
clever literacy devices become cobra and snacking on pieces of
tiresome slick gimmicks and mummy.
TIiurriell Q enIi to a) di'L.a iL ."tGuuAka al te_-i
I
em
mm
By BILL LOOMIS ijurreti seems to realize ;t. at GuuAkdclshervi
By BILL LOOMIS tempting to compensate fcr the "Monsieur" which provides the
Lawrence Durrell is a great lack of substance with exotic author with a title. Akkad's be-
stylist. His sentences glitter with settings and some unusual char- lief that God has desert. d the
clever twists, tantalizing imag- acters. world to leave the devil in
ery and poetic description. If charge gives Durrell a chance
style alone could make a novel THE STRUCTURE of Monsieur to create some incredible lives
great, Durrell's works would be is complex; a novel within for the purpose of descr'bing
this generation's War and a novel really: Durrell inveats the religious experience. "The
Peace. Here's one of his luxur- the novelist Blanford who in gold bar is the apothesis of toe
iant sentences: "All day long turn creates novelist Rob Stut- human turd" is one of tie best.
this feast of colour, and then at cliffe. Sutcliffe's novel distorts
night the heavens thick with bril- the personalities of t h r ee Bruce and Sylvia shy away
liant stars like the loaded friends - all Blanford charact- from such exotic doings, b u t
boughs of an almond in blos- ers. And he caricatures Baan- Piers becomes engrossed in the;
som . drank on in an im- ford, calling him "Blyhsford" gnostic faith. He and a friend
mense peace and calm, feeling and portraying him as a nom- Toby, a young historian, :nves-
the old river stealing by be- pous author who has forsaken tigate the connection of tne'
neath the dreams of the humble art to grind out best-sellers. gnostics and the Knight of Tem-
Arabs like a floor of glass." At the center of Monsieur plar. Here the author offers his
There -are more like this, exquis is the "happy trinity of lovers" somlution the mysgtry of the
ite sentences flowing one after in Sutcliffe's novel. A retired valric order The Knights, ah -
another. English doctor and member of were accused of practic-
But, alas, all that glitters isn't the happy trimty narrates t : e ing heresy and deviant sex. His-
gold, and a thousand beautiful tale; the other two members of tory records that they were
descriptions don't save this. nov- this menage a trois are a massacered during the Inqnisi-
el. For underneath the surface French diplomat, Piers de No- tion but Durrell believes they
brilliance of Monsieur lies weli, garet, and his sister, Sylvia. destroyed themselves in a mass
-- -7 Bruce's narration is mostly re- gnostic suicide. Ultimately,
stricted to close and heavy de- Piers is killed in a mywerious
scription of setting, appearance manner similar to the gnosticI
and costume. It has the final death.
E: effect of a kind of "hip" Georgej
Pierot show, with its full page IT DOES LITTLE to stir (ur
accounts of dinners and scen- sympathies. We never have
ery. Even the "action" consists any clues to the behavior of
mainly in sitting and eating. Durrell's characters. We are in-
Sometimes Bruce's monol)gues troduced to them and are told
FROM become so boring you'd thinkwp
he could easily talk an hour cr what eventually happens to
MARCH 2-9 two about a glass of water. them, but any meaning rr depth
behind their words or app'ar-
Golden Bird Flights A VACATION to the oasis ance is never explored. Sylvia
TRIP INCLUDES Egyptian village of Maca- is slowly going insane and Toby
bru finally brings a needed jolt will ultimately commit suicide
BRITISH COLONIAL to the plot. For some reason, a but you'll never have a hint as
s Round trip iet from glib tongued ghuru named Ak- to why it happened.
Windsor to Nassau kad takes an interest in tnese Don't bother looking for clues
" All tips and hotel taxes tourists and initiates them into in their actions or conversatons.
"included
Free transfers and boaae Ia gnostic religion which in- These sometimes border the
handlincg between hotel and -.
airport in Nassau ®®-
" Complimentary areen fees - ---.-
and tennis PREPARE
* Complimentary in-fliaht (/World Airways -
meal and bar plus many LUXURIOUS BOEING 747 JUMBOJEIS
other extras TO FRANKFURT
Travel GrOUP Charter Aifare Ony R&
"II ~$329.99 min__ $395.98 GRE .
_xtTRAEL G "E.' &-
___ __ ~MONEY BACK
1 May 26 June 19 March 26 M NYBC
2 June11 July 3 April7
3 June16 July24 April12 - LOCAL CLASSES B
4 June 30 July 31 April 27
994- 244 5 July 21 Sept. 4 May 17 I A Unique A
6 July 28 Aug. 28 May 24
N 7 Aug.11 Sept.2 June7 EXAMINATION
ridiculous. On a trip 1)wn the
Nile, Bruce announces, "We were
moving from one dream to ano-
ther, merging from one truth
into another" but nothing hap-
pens except a lot of nice Nile
water and birds. Or try a sam-
ple of character Rob Suecliff's;
world views: "The marc we
drank has set me thinking fur-{
iously. The sharp differentiation
of the sexes in one culture was
shaped most probably by mono-
gamy and monosexuality and
their taboos".
A TOTAL LACK of connecrdon
is the novel's main preb-
lem. There is too much travel-
ing, mystery, religion -- t oo
much material in general. The
result is a sketchiness of treat-
men-t which robs material of
even the most interesting po-
tential of any serious quality.
A quotation given to Blanford
in the final part of the novel
sums the difficulties up beauti-
fully: "There were so many
corners he had left unexplcred,'
so many potentialities undevel-
oped . . . Never had ne teen-
riore uncertain of a piece of
writing, never had he needed
advice and guidance more. " 1
Bill Loomis is an English ma-
jor.
GENEI\TTON, edited by
M a r c i a Perry, Ri;-hardt
Streicker, et. al; Student
Bo-rd of Publinptions, Fall
1974, 58 pages, $1.00.
By ELLEN BRESLOW
NN ARBOR IS supposedly
1 1-den with literary talent.
But Generation, the University's
inter-arts magazine was forced
to preface its Fall 1974 issue
with an apology for its meager-
ness of content. The volume
makes a brave atempt at rep-
resenting the artistic abilities
of the area but it inevitably suf-
fers from what is--quite simply
--a lack of interest.
Editor Marcia Perry addresses
a plea of hope to all the "poten-
tial contributors" who "neglect-
ed to toss . . even a crust of
bread to sustain the magazine."
If readers are in any sense dis-
satisfied, she s' ggests contribu-
tions instead of complaints.
This volume lacks the coher-
ence of theme which charac-
terized the proceeding magazine.
Its content is less the express-
ion of current student thoughts
and feelings than it is a con-
glomerate of soul - searching
answers to world-plauging ques-
tions.
Nevertheless, the work of the
poets and prose writers in the
volume does deserve some ap-
plause. Kathi Steele's "Sundays"
proves to be a partially effec-
tive expression of pain and suf-
fering; Linda Breiner ellicits a
definite cynicism in her "Brod-
sky Triolet;" while Keith Bovair=
captures an ironic vision of the
drug-fill d, hip community flock-
ing to the Ann Arbor Blues Fes-
tival.
TT IS ANNE Bagley, however,
who most successfully,
achieves her specific intent. In
"Lines," Ms. Bagley does a fine
job of "integrating her art with
:redit lines state. From a de-
scriotion of the line as stretch-
ing from point to point" and the
sensiti-e ". . . shading: uneven
scratches" which combine to
nrodlce the artistic form, she
enters 'he world of children, of
rain. of ,inartistic reality to find
in this sphere the forms which
nor,'ally are considered to exist
only on the artist's canvas. She
clearly has mastered the ability
to see the world in its many
varying dimensions.
Mixed in with a basically un-
r-latel array of literary pieces
is a disiointed mixture of art-
work which fails to enhance or
intelligently illustrate the ac-
companying written work.
It's also an artistic letdown
from the previous edition. This
volume limits itself purely to
thotogranhy. None of the sketch-
es, sc"ltres, and craft pieces
included in the spring magazine,
appear this time.
WHI E THE STUDENT popu-
lation's lack of interest in
the magazine certainly is made
euidet by Generation's meager
literary offerings, the magazine,
on it's own merits, can not be
exnected to ellicit too much re-
sponse.
The little magazine waged a
gigantic battle with anathy and
e-nerged as successfully as pos-
sible. The ouality and level of
professionalism could be much
highr-brit only if the publica-
tion has (laality poetry and prose
contributions.
Editor Perry ends her intro-
d'uction with the solution to the
vol'rme's unasked-for problems:
"We like our magazine, we hope
yon do, too. If you don't, please
don't grumble about it in a cor-
ner somewhere- do something
about it;"
Ellen Breslow is, a Daily staff
u ~ri/er.
T or Mallow __ __ __ __
directed by
written and
JOSEPH A.
WALKER
THE
IN.IGER
i
FOR THE
her
poetry" as her biographical
AT, LSAT,
ATGSB
February 14-16, 1975 POWER CENTER
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