THE CLEARANCE

Spunky Maggie McKinley, Glasgow born and bred, tells how she coped with a country summer in the glen of Inverness-shire and, when her 83 year-old Granny's cabin was destroyed by fire, how she managed to get her resettled in a new town flat. Maggie's affectionate but sometimes frustrating relationship with Granny is relieved by the attentions of suitably handsome James Fraser, whose prodding parents are a striking contrast with Maggie's own rather apathetic, working class family. Maggie's enthuiasm for small things--from Granny's well-worn heirlooms to the pleasures of preparing a Chinese dinner a deux--and her forthright way of taking charge of the McKinleys' responsibility for Granny inspire a vicarious sense of competence and awareness. However, her first person account does tend to chatter on and on, limiting her potential circle of friends to those who won't tire of the uninflected flow of rueful, bustling self-analysis.