THE LONG WALK HOME FROM TOWN

After books in more obstreperous genres (adventure and farce) this is far gentler, a dream and memory misted view of a Tarkingtonian boyhood in a Montana town. Now, some thirty years later, Andy looks back on what happened then- to what may seem like more prosaic experiences from school- to the swimming hole- to a first dance, and at all times, those youthful preoccupations with sex. All of it however is faintly brushed with paranormal and metaphysical ambiguities, and particularly with Carol- whom Andy loves most- there are disconcerting incidents, premonitions and instances of deja vu in which reality is displaced time and again. Or is it just the interception of illusion? Whatever, this is appropriately ephemeral entertainment; the touch is fresh, and sentiment and humor converge somewhere in that twilight zone with pause to wonder.