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 Year Program or Fall Term only Also open to qualified students for the Spring Term only.. Juniors and Seniors eligible. Earn 16 credits per semester. Financial aid available. Application Deadlines: MARCH 15 for Fall & Year NOVEMBER 1st for Spring i I 1 J + I 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 EUROPE ONLY $336.00 * INTRA-EUROPEAN STUDENT FLIGHTS-SAVE UP TO 50% * EURAIL PASSES * INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY CARDS DEADLINE FOR EUROPEAN FLIGHTS 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 (Eves. 8-00 p.m. Sun. Mat. 3:00 p.m.) PROFESSIONAL. THEATRE PROGRAM Advance Ticket Sales-PTP Ticket Office Mendelssohn Lobby-764-0450 GUARANTEE 3EGINN/NG SOON kpproack to PREPARATION 1! ____________ -I COURSE MART NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION It provides an opportunity for faculty members and qualified students to teach subjects not housed by traditional Depts. If you have an interesting idea for a course Contact 1018 Angell Hall, Student Counseling Office. HURRY-the Deadline for Fall Term is Feb. 20th Tral Charter, Inc. ' 418 arah Sraet OeloilMI 4226 T.I. 962 11 Send me detailed Information. 1 - - - - --------------------- ---- Imhe I a et ehtep (313) 663-3598 -m m - - m -= - - - m - - - I ,.. NOW HEAR THIS .. . Bill Bishop Jerry R rf-r- I I' - r1 Ailey WI. 1I I I ! I 2 um~g. -4-6&.-W