Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, June 6, 1986 Books One Way or Another Peter Cameron Harper and Row Publishers Hardcover, 181 pages $15.95 One Way or Another is not a book to read if one wants peace of mind. The 14 stories are disquieting, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their comfor- table, suburban settings. Their im- pact is not immediate; as a matter of fact, the plots almost slip away un- noticed. The shock comes later - and it is one of recognition. Author Peter Cameron's theme is a disappointment. From Melissa, who spends her wedding night in a hotel lobby, to the woman whose lover "promised me that if he stayed sober for two years we would get married. But he was drunk then . I think he's forgotten about it," no one gets a happy ending, a reasonable sub- stitute, or even something worth complaining about. Life merely con- tinues. O NE W AY AOTHE PETSR CAMERON A HER The most compelling thing about these stories is their elusiveness. After reading a few, the reader is forced to ask "What happened?" Perhaps a few will ask "What's the point?" Ad- mittedly, it takes a while to come up with a summary less vague than "It made me feel strange." But because these stories are not easy to grasp, they are also not easy to forget. Why, for example, has the teenage boy in "Memorial Day" refused to speak to his mother and stepfamily since his parents' divorce? All he tells the reader is "Actually, I talk quite a lot at school, but never at home. I have nothing to say to anyone here." In the end, he decides to speak to his mother, but she stops him-"Don't say anything yet." Again, why? The complete feelings arising from losing one's home and family must be gleaned from what observations and comments are offered. There is an occasional superfluous detail and a somewhat tiring fondness for homosexual lovers (although this does not mar one of the better stories, "Jump or Dive"). A more serious flaw is a lack of differentiation between main characters that makes reading one story immediately after another somewhat confusing (and tags like homosexuality arbitrary and trite) - after all, the voice of an out- of-work actor should differ from those of a seventeen-year-old boy and a woman entering graduate school. This is not to say that the characters are not well drawn within each story, but that when considered as a group, they lose uniqueness, to the point of serving as mere wooden dummies for Cameron's thinly disguised voice. But in spite of this, Cameron's straightforward, clean prose and knack of feeding the reader bizarre situations in spoonfuls of average ex- perience makes this book worthwhile -if one enjoys puzzling out the significance of events and the costs of modern living. It is the sort of book that was meant to be set down often, as a reader seemingly stares into trees, sky, or water, wondering why the book's strangeness is so familiar. -Rebecca Chung Go to bat against Birth Defects Support the March of Dimes BIRTH DEFCTS FOUNAION FRIDAY Campus Cinema Flesh Gordon (Ziehm & Benveniste, 1975) AAFC, 7 & 10 p.m., Nat. Sci. Invasion of the Bee Girls (Denis Saunders, 1975) AAFC, 9:30 p.m., Nat. Sci. The Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957) AltAct., 7:30 p.m., MLB 4. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 19381 Alt. Act., 9:30 p.m., MLB 4. Love in the City (Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Dino Risi, Alberto Latuda, Carlo Lazzani & Maelli Zavattini, 1953) CG, 7 p.m., MLB 3. Voyage to Italy (Roberto Rosellini, 1953) CG, 8:45, MLB 3. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) C2, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Aud. A. Performances Sly Fox: Performance Netowrk. Also, June 7-8, 12-15, & 19-22. Perfor- mance time, 8 p.m. Performance Network, 408 W. Washington. For more information call: 663-0681. International Folk Dancing: U of M Folk Dancing Club. Angell Elemen- tary School 2nd floor gym, 8:30-10:30. For more information call: 665-0219. Bars and Clubs Mingao- The Ark. Willie D. Warren and the Blues Cruisers - The Blind Pig. Son Seals -Rick's American Cafe. * Speakers Richard Sears-A discussion on globular starclusters, followed by the film Star Clusters. SATURDAY Campus Cinema Mirage (Edward Dmytyryck, 1965) THE LIST AAFC, 7:30 p.m., MLB 4. Council for Traditional Music and Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945) Dance. See Saturday's listing. TUESDAY AAFC, 9:30p.m., MLB 4. Koyannisqatsi (Geoffry Reggio, U Bars and Clubs Campus Cinema 1983) Alt. Act., 7:30 & 9:30, Aud. A. Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Ber- Lana Pollack Fund-raiser-The Quadrophenia (Frank Roddam, tolucci, 1973) 7 & 9:30 p.m., MLB 3. Ark. 1979) AAFC, 7:34 & 9:30 p.m., MLB 3. Comfort and Joy (Bill Forsyth, Quadrophenia (Frank Roddem, 1984) C2, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., Nat. Sci. Furthermore 1979) AAFC, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., MLB 3. Destroy She Said (Michel Duras, Performance Rockclimbing trip to Grand Ledge 1969) Eyemediae, 8 p.m., 214 N. Four- - $42. Advance registration required. th Ave. 764-3967. Sly Fox: Performance Network. Central America Course - Performances (See Friday's listing.) Discussion on 6-week course offered 6th Annual Ann Arbor Festival of Fh Annguan A nnArborFesalArbo by the Social Concerns Committee of 6th Annual Piano Competition: Folk Song and Dance: An rA ror the First Unitarian Church on the Young Keyboard Artists Association. Concilfor1:3TraditioaltMusItandgeography, politics, and history of See Monday's listing. Dance. 8-11:30 p.m., Forsythe Inter- Central America. Preceded by the mediate School. For more infor- documentary "Witness to War." 1917 Bars and Clubs mation call: 769-1052 or 668-0568. Wa-htenaw, 6 p.m. 1 1 Skin of Our Teeth: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. 8 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. For more information call: 662-7282. Bars and Clubs Open Mike Night-The Ark. The Flies - The Blind Pig. Buzztones-Rick's American Cafe. Speakers Mark Green: Professor at Polytechnic University will speak on the "Stereochemical and other struc- tural effects on chain stiffness in polyisocynates." Macrocolecular Research Center Special Colloquium. Chemistry Building, rm. 1403. 12 p.m. THURSDAY Campus Cinema Guazapa (Tools for Peace & Justic- e in Central America and Eastern Carribean) - A film depicting everyday life in an FMLN-controlled zone in El Salvador, 7 p.m., Michigan Union, Pond Room. Admission is free. Cousin, Cousine (Jean Charles Tac- chella, 1976) AAFC, 7:30 & 9:15, MLB 4. Performances 6th Annual Piano Competition: Young Keyboard Artists Association. See Monday's listing. Bars and Clubs Fabulous Dyketones - The Ark. Before or After - The Blind Pig. Tracy Lee and the Leonards - Rick's American Cafe. For more information about events around town see The Calendar on page 14. Bars and Clubs Dick Seigel - The Ark. Karl Hildebrandt Farewell Party - The Blind Pig. Son Seals - Rick's American Cafe. Furthermore Introductory Canoeing Clinic - Argo Park, 1-4 p.m. $10. Advance registration required. 764-3967. SUNDAY Campus Cinema No films. Performances Sly Fox: Performance Network. (See Friday's listing.) 8th Annual Ann Arbor Festival of Folk Song and Dance: Ann Arbor MONDAY Campus Cinema No films. Performances 6th Annual Piano Competition: Young Keyboard Artists Association. University School of Music Bldg., 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. The Language of Eroticism - Eyemediae, 8 p.m., 214 N. Fourth Ave. * Bars and Clubs 902 - The Blind Pig. Dick Solberg and the Sun Mountain Band -The Ark. I-V-I Orchestra with George Bedard - The Blind Pig. Mission Impossible - Rick's American Cafe. Furthermore Introductory Camping Technics Clinic - $4. Advance registration required. 764-3967. 7 p.m., at the NCRB. WEDNESDAY Campus Cinema No films. Performances 6th Annual Piano Competition: Young Keyboard Artists Association. See Monday's listing.