ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604230069
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
WORDS STILL COUNT WITH ME: A Chronicle of Literary Conversations.
By Herbert Mitgang. W.W.Norton. $25.
Reading "Words Still Count with Me" is somewhat like attending a cocktail party: contact with each person is brief. Here, however, the substance proves richer than most such transitory meetings.
Spanning more than 30 years, 1962-1995, these personal interviews with writers took place in the United States, Europe and Asia. The title is from a remark by E.B. White during a conversation in 1976.
An excellent reporter, Mitgang allows his subjects to speak for themselves, which they do eloquently. What a joy it must have been to talk to so many luminaries and to travel so widely! Similar joy is provided by perusing this volume.
- LYNN ECKMAN
THE GATES OF TWILIGHT.
By Paula Volsky. Bantam. $12.95.
A new book by Paula Volsky is a treat to be savored. As always, her characters are engaging, her plots tense with adventure, intrigue and subtle romance, and her settings ... well, fantastic.
Volsky sets each book in its own country modeled on some culture from our own world; Lanthi Ume of ``The Sorcerer's Lady'' is modeled on Venice and Sherreen in ``Illusion'' recalls Paris during the Revolution. The setting of ``The Gates of Twilight'' resembles India under British rule.
Renille vo Chaumelle, a Vonahrish civil servant ordered to act as spy, is entertainingly resourceful from first to last. Jathondi, daughter of the disempowered Aveshquian ruler, proves equally intelligent and capable, although she plays a lesser role.
Volsky's creations are not the least bit shallow, and, taken as a whole, they form a unique history, linked by common, but subtle, references. Most importantly, Volsky writes with a good humor, even if she is pulling civilization down around her characters' ears.
- WENDY MORRIS
Lynn Eckman teaches at Roanoke College and is a volunteer for the Office of Refugee and Immigration Services.
Wendy Morris lives with her husband, her cat and a growing number of books.
LENGTH: Short : 50 linesby CNB