Page Six THE MICHIGAN GAILY Saturday, August 2, 1975 Crichton xpress: Classical lines THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY by Michael Crichton. Knopf, New York. 226 pp. By JIM HILL In this backward-looking period in our emotional history when the publishing houses are doing a brisk business in "Sherlockiana" (i.e., new editions of Sherlock Holmes as well as studies of the world's foremost sleuth) and cleverly de- signed Victorian sagas, Michael Crich- ton's new suspense novel appears as a superbly timed work of fiction. The Great Train Robbery has climbed steadily on the best-seller lists in the few weeks since its publication and promises to remain there until the end of the sum- mer season. It's that kind of a book: a highly en- joyable crime caper that people c a n work effortlessly into their vacations - on the road, on the beach - then pass on to friends. The story is based on a recorded event red precisely as given in the novel. Much like Crichton's two previous sci-fi novels, The Andromeda Strain and The Termin- al Man, the action here is carefully tim- ed and tightly controlled and impressively supported by a wealth of thoroughly re- searched esoterica. The sophistication, however, lies not so much in technologi- cal hardware as human ingenuity. To heighten the level of verisi ilitude, Crichton employs an historian's per- spective (thereby, a precise chronicle of facts) and a formal Victorian period prose rather like John Fowles in The French Lieutenant's Woman. As in his previous novels, and in the best tradition of sci-fi writers, Crichton subordinates character to plot; b u t it's on the level of plot where he demon- strates his mastery in the genre of sus- pense fiction. He very carefuly constructs a puzzle then very elaborately solves it: how does one go about stealing 12,000 pounds in gold from two safes locked in the guard- ed carriage of a train travelling between The Saturday Magazine I I I I q r 1A law of physics known as Bernoulli's Prin- ciple, and the twist seems exactly right for the occasion, the sort of unexpected intrusion of arcana that one can savor. The characters have little or no depth; they are either faintly sketched or broad- ly drawn. Edward Pierce, the master- mind, remains a mysterious figure at the end of the book; he is described as being a tall, handsome man with a full red beard; his origins are unknown, his manner urbane, unflappable, impeccably logical, and endlessly resourceful, and his only revealed motive for carrying out the theft is "because I wanted the mon- ey." The secondary characters, Agar the "screwsman" (safe-cracker), C I e a n Willy the "snakesman" (cat burglar), and Miriam, the lovely mistress of Pierce, are primarily specialists, and never emerge to any extent from their limited Dickensian roles. They repre- sent the London underworld, a subcul- ture with a style and argot which the reader quickly warms to and enters into the spirit of, so that when Pierce men- tions that he intends - to "snaffle" a "pogue" and will need five "barkers", the meaning is clear. While the compression of time isn't as important here as in Crichton's past novels, the action does move forward rapidly, through preparations, difficul- ties and delays, to the pinch itself. The pace of events and growing suspense does occasionally slow and weaken be- neath the weight of Victoriana Crich- ton so unreservedly includes; he very conscientiously prepares a context - ranging from the peculiar history of Scot- land Yard to the vaguely relevant Ind- ian rebellion of 1857, and, having versed the reader, he proceeds with the action, the plot is picked up and embellished. Crichton frequently provides irresist- ibly odd pieces of Victoriana, which the reader is grateful for, such as the ac- count of the famous waterfront lodgings called "penny hangs", frequented by sea- men. Here drunken sailors slept the night for a penny, draped like sodden rugs aver a taut, chest-high rope. Another tantalizing bit of trivia involv- es the Victorian obsession with prema- ture burial; it seems that the fear was so common that it prompted the inven- tion of a number of signalling devices which the newly revived corpse could sound for speedy excavation. Among the simplest and most economical of these products was the "Bateson Life Revival Device", an iron bell mognted over the casket that registered via a connecting wire the slightest movement made by the decass-d (naturally, a false fiarm was a sobering experience). "lust b e f a r e the actual heist, the robbers are nearly defeated by their misunder- standing of an obscure law of physics. It is the kind of un- expected intrusion of orcano that one can savor' The Great Train Robbery has (l i k e Crichton's antecedent thrillers) the un- mistakable lok and feel of a novel de- signed with a movie in mind, a movie which the versatile Crichton is likely to direct, and which promises to be more entertainment than an enduring work of art. n ° _ _ in English history. In 1855, with Britain engaged in war with Russia, the monthly payroll train bound for troops in the Crimea was robbed of 12,000 pounds in gold bullion. London newspapers played. up the robbery; it became a celebated heist. Author Crichton gives a fictionaliz- ed account of what might have happen- ed, and he does so with such a plethora of authentic period detail and solid do- cumentation that the reader hasn't a shading of doubt that the robbery occur- 'Nashville': Altman s America, a' study in light and stark London and the coast without tipping off the authorities? Impossible . .. but wait ... the mechanics of the operation are endlessly fascinating; the dazling inven- tiveness of the robbers, the unexpected developments, the setbacks, the suc- cesses and the hair-breadth escapes keep the reader turning pages. In the mo- ments before the actual heist the rob- bers are very nearly defeated by their mistaken understanding of an obscure By DEBORAH SCHWARZ Robert Altman's latest film, "Nash- ville," explores a familiar yet enigmatic terrain, the South, focusing on it's most profitable and beloved pastime, the music industry. Delving beneath the crooning violins and twangy soaring voices of Grand Ole Opry and Country and Western, Alt- man touches with clarity and accuracy the people of Nashville, of the South, and of America. It is a huge, involved spectacle of a film, and Altman never misses. While a large cast may be a drawback for another filmmaker, Alt- man expertly and completely develops his diversified company of lesser knowns and stars, capturing their lives, their ambitions, and their dreams.. The action centers somewhat loosely upon two major events; the hmecoming of Barbara- Jean, an up and coming Country and Western singer scarred by a tragic past and serious emotional prob- lems, and the Presidential campaigning of a newly formed Replacement Party candidate, who suspiciously resembles a George Wallace type. The juxtaposition- ing of these two events is telling, for we watch frail Barbara Jean undergo a irritably with the overall smooth tone. pathetic emotional disintegration in pain- She is too typically loud and obnoxious ful, open view to her public, while we in her flustering intellectualizing, Yet hear this mysterious grass-roots candi- her character and the occasional am- date, an omnipresent politico barricaded biguity of a few scenes do not detract behind a megaphone. from the grace and spontaneity of the This is a sigificant comment upon the film curious, false intimacy the media allows us. The public can indulge in an intrld- Altman's greatest achievement is in ing speculation upon an entertainer's pri- making a superb documentary-type film "'Nashville' is a huge, involved spectacle of a film, and Altman never misses . . . He shows us an America tarnished by, vulgarity and brashness that are uniquely American. The view is saddening and. somehow familiar." vate life, but is allowed only a meager that goes a step beyond mere "movie" knowledge of the politics guiding our appeal to .capture the shifting, unset- lives. Barbara Jean is preyed upon by tIed mood of middle America. "Nash' her insensitive audience, but the candi- ville" shows us an American tarnished date is elusive, shielded by banners, by a vulgarity and brashness that is loudspeakers, and shrewd managers. uniquely American, and the view is sad- The fluid style of "Nashville" allows dening and somehow familiar. Still the for flaws as well as excellence. Geral- film is far from gloomy or pessimistic, dine Chaplin, as the dizzy psuedo-intel- for it also reveals a stubborn, persistent lectual reporter from the BBC, clashes energy and hope.