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Readers accustomed to sitcom or Lexfinger-like spoofs will 'find a different, and preferable, sort of humor in Thomas Berger’s REIN -HART IN LOVE (Ballantine Books, 75lt;£). Taking as his theme the typical and topical. problem of a young man’s Finding Himself, Berger builds his hero, Carlos Reinhart, into the most sublime of Losers.Berger warns us that self-discovery is the least of problems. The problem is what to do with self-discovery when it | points upy as it inevitably I does, one’s own shortcomings. Swept up and thrown down by sundry mystics, millionaires, quasi-commun-ists, mad medical doctors, Jand smalltime criminals, ^Reinhart eventually learns;|||at the only possible vic-l^ory in life is the victory the pathetic over the fperely hopeless. Recommen-For those of you cravingvvSA'H tc?ugh a,cti°n, CAR-KILL by Robert EdmondAlter CGold Medal,50lt;£) will provide a few enjoyable hours. Set In a Floridian version of Disneyland, and peopled by assorted carny ttypes, the story concerns Leslie Thaxton’s attempts to clear himself, of his ex-wife’s husband’s murder. Gold Medal usually does better, but CK is a pleasent time-killer.Lerone Bennet,/Jr’s essay-|Tiist6ry oi rthe Negro as- a social and economic being (THE NEGRO MOOD, Ba 11-antine Books,60£) is very thoughtful and striking. In spare, sometimes ‘harsh prose, Bennett states that the real Negro .leadership of today is prepared to face the. civil rights struggle as a sheer struggle for power. Inability to do this in theBook Reviews byEd Gormanpast, Bennett claims, has hampered any effective Negro power-thrust. The book *s. e^fctive because of its simplicity and its tempered anger. Recommended. .James H. Schmitz’s A TALE OF TWO CLOCKS (Belmont Books,50lt;£ ) concerns living plastic-beings spawned by a futuristic thinking machine. Overblown, divided into sometimes confusing subplots, starring a heroine too masculine for most tastes (her name is Trigger), TALE’s •biggest strength lies in its strong adventure elements and polished presentation. For science fiction buffs.Harlan Ellison has long been one of the better Un-noticed’s. His short stories are enamored of a craft and intensity seldom matched in popular writing. Now, Pyramid Books (50£) offers a new Ellison collection. The title story, PAINGOD, is my favorite in the book. Ellison conceptualizes and captures in a few pages a universe which, unlike our own, offers both its gods and underlings a touching and subtle significance. Well done introduction and story notes also give^ pertinent insights about writer and audience, Recommended to anyone who likes good short stories, despite their categorical type. NOTE: Ballentine Bookshas pubHshed a beautifully illustrated-.-and handsomely boxed edition of j.R.R. Ted-, kien s tcLord of the Rings” inexpensive editions, the trilogy details the adventures of the Hobhits, fantasy creatures bent on epic romance, As a whole, or individually, the trilogy is one of the finest works in contemporary English prose and as a boxed set would make an attractive and lasting gift.
Newspaper Details
Citizen Times
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Thu, Dec 30, 1965
Page 26
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 03 Mar 2025
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