From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #265 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Thursday, February 22 2001 Volume 01 : Number 265 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 11:56:14 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] _Escape to Witch Mountain_? (was: Flashbacks) Oops, my bad. I WAS confusing Escape with the Bette Davis film. I'll now climb back under my rock to lick my wounds. Thom Frank Maxwell wrote: > Thom wrote: > > >> What I found disatisfying about Escape was its (to me) inappropriate >> mixing of genres. What started off as a typical ghost story turned out, >> in fact, to be a science fiction story. I'm not suggesting that those >> genres shouldn't be mixed, but Escape did in a _deus ex machina_ way, so >> that the sf ending seemd tacked on as the easiest way to explain what >> had been going on. I would have like to have seen more foreshadowing of >> the real ending, while still making it appear to be a ghost story, so >> that when the real endings comes, I'm going back over events in the >> movie and saying to mylelf, "Now, that makes sense." > > > Are you sure, Thom, that you're describing "Escape to Witch Mountain"? I > think you might be talking about another Disney film back in 1980, "Watcher > in the Woods". It starred Bette Davis and David McCallum. > > Here's how it's described in the Internet Movie Database: > > http://us.imdb.com/Title?0081738 > > "When a normal American family moves into a beautiful old English house in > a wooded area, strange, paranormal appearances befall them in this > interesting twist to the well-known haunted-house tale. Their daughter Jan > sees, and daughter Ellie hears, the voice of a young teenage girl who > mysteriously disappeared during a total solar eclipse decades before... " > > IMDB lists "Watcher"'s genre as "Horror", but I remember there's a > science-fiction explanation at the end of the flick. I also recall reading > that the Disney folk had a hard time making this film work -- probably > because of the mixture of genres that you describe. > > Regards, > Frank Maxwell > > > > > > - > AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 11:01:14 -0800 From: "Stephen Goode" Subject: Re: [AML] _Escape to Witch Mountain_? Frank, Thom's description fits both movies. They both had a similar formula: a supernatural mystery, kids with strange powers, ESP, telekinesis, objects with strange sybmols, quirky senior citizens, and out-of-this-world endings. _Escape to Witch Mountain_ had a _deus ex machina_ ending, but in my opinion, _Watcher in the Woods_ did not. I liked "Watcher" so much more than "Escape." I haven't seen the more modern remake of "Escape" but I saw the original as a child. Even then, I disliked the switch from what I would have classed as a horror movie into what was really a sci-fi movie. I think "Watcher" made the transition more smoothly, and even the sci-fi ending had more of a horror feel. Rex Goode _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 12:04:48 -0700 From: Gideon Burton Subject: [AML] Prayer Request for Eugene England Sobering news for all who know and love one of the most important people in Mormon letters. Last night Eugene England collapsed and this morning had emergency brain surgery. A tumor and cyst had been putting pressure on his brain--apparently responsible for his recent physical and emotional decline. They removed the right frontal lobe of his brain this morning. The good news is he is already gaining consciousness and can move his left foot. To what extent he will be able to recover mentally is unknown. Please join his former BYU colleagues and his many many friends in praying for his restored health. Gideon Burton - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 15:18:09 -0700 From: Eileen Stringer Subject: Re: [AML] DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ > > Feb. 14 was the original date for the film's release, but it has been pushed > > back to April 6. April 6 is a Friday, which is the normal day for movie > > releases, but of course April 6 is also a significant church date. If > > Richard Dutcher chose it for that subtextual reason, I'm disappointed in > > him. > > Why? I think cute little tricks like that are fun. > > -- > D. Michael Martindale > dmichael@wwno.com I have no problem with that as a release date and quite frankly had Eric D. not noted it, I would have not made the *connection* if there is a connection to be made, maybe just a coincidence. By the way, what does determine movie release dates? Eileen Stringer eileens99@bigplanet.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 23:04:31 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] DUTCHER, _Brigham City_ > >By the way, what does determine movie release dates? > > It's up to the studios and the marketing wizards. Some of it has to do with the seasons, and what genres of films typically work best. Action/adventure films do better as summer blockbusters, while Oscar hopefuls are for fall and later in the year (so they're fresh in voters' minds when nominations come out mid-February). The time of year we're in now is for lousy movies -- the ones that have no chance of getting nominated for anything, so who cares if anyone remembers them. Freddie Prinze Jr. movies come out in January or February, as do movies that don't fit anywhere else (romantic dramas, less bombastic action movies, etc.). The pre-summer season is where "Brigham City" is. Movie-goers are gearing up for summer, thinking about all the heavily hyped, cool-looking flicks on their way, and they're going to the movies more than they do in the winter. As I mentioned in another post, though, several other films are also due out April 6 -- more than a typical week has. So in that regard, the date is a bad choice for "Brigham City," because it may get crowded out. On the other hand, "BC" kind of has its audience built in, and maybe competition from other new movies that weekend won't affect it. Eric D. Snider _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 16:15:57 -0700 From: "Brent J. Rowley" Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Thrillers > >I'm not talking about mystery > >thrillers nor necessarily about sci-fi, but page-turner action novels, > >perhaps with spies, international plots, technology--that sort of thing. = I > >believe Gerald Lund's Alliance is one. Others? Linda Adams wrote: > > Well , FWIW, my book has been described as "all of the above," in= one > way or another. WELL ... ... ALAWTH, (as long as we're tooting horns) ... MY= books have ALSO been described as "all of the above" and fit the description perfectly. "Page-turners" is the most common phrase I hear from readers= (next to maybe: "I couldn't put it down.) Rowley, BJ. _My Body Fell Off!_. Golden Wings, 2000. (volume one of the= Light Traveler Adventure Series) Rowley, BJ. _Silver Hawk's Revenge_. Golden Wings, 2000. (volume two of the Light Traveler Adventure Series) Rowley, BJ. _Missing Children_. Golden Wings, 2000. (volume three of the= Light Traveler Adventure Series) And let me take this opportunity to announce my newest addition to the ever-growing line of Youth/Young Adult, Action/Adventure Fiction. Rowley, BJ. _Sting!_. Golden Wings, 2001. (release date March 15th) If you're interested, here's a copy of the backliner: Sting! Stephen Ray Fischer, otherwise known as Sting, has a very annoying= little =91thing=92 about him. He can=92t seem to touch anyone without shocking them=97literally. Even with rubber-soled shoes and standing on plain dirt or cement, everybody gets zapped. It=92s not serious, of course. Kids do it all= the time. But not ALL the time. Now, as a junior in his small town high school, Sting=92s schoolmates= have long since learned to keep a wide berth, and as a result, true friends are= hard to come by. The taunting and teasing are relentless, especially when Sting= =92s little =91stings=92 start getting a little out of hand. After a curious incident with a high voltage power line, Sting finds= he=92s suddenly becoming more and more electrically charged. Lights turn off and= on, clocks spin like wall fans, radios and TVs change channels. Something very= weird is happening, and Sting has no idea what it is or what to do about it. He=92= s becoming dangerous to be around. There=92s even talk of having him put away. Only one girl, a newcomer named Connie Phillips, has compassion for the walking, human lightening bolt. And her father, a retired scientist with a= very mysterious past, takes the supercharged Sting under his wing and into his confidence has he works secretly on his =91project=92 in the garage. Then life starts getting complicated. Sting=92s jolted and electrocuted= peers want to teach him a lesson he=92ll never forget. Some unnamed government= agencies from the big city want Sting locked up for scientific study. Angry church members want him Ex'd. And a smooth talking businessman=97with= bodyguards=97wants to =91employee=92 Sting for reasons he can=92t even imagine. And if that=92s not enough, Mr. Phillips=92 project=97a top secret,= uniquely modified, VERY supercharged Corvette Stingray=97has suddenly disappeared. Vanished! And all fingers point to Sting Ray Fischer. - -BJ Rowley - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 16:32:57 -0700 From: "ROY SCHMIDT" Subject: Re: [AML] Robert NEWELL, _Word History for Latter-day Saints Volume 1:Preexistence to the Promised Land_ (Review_ Jeff, Einar Erickson was a very popular lecturer in the 1970's and early 1980's. He was a dynamic speaker, and produced any number of tapes of his talks. They may still be available at Deseret Book, where a bought a couple five or six years ago. While he has a lot on interesting insights, I have come to the conclusion that many of his conclusions are dead wrong. For example he argues that European Jews who rejected the idea of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem became subject to Hitler's ovens because of that rejection. I currently put him in the same category as Cleon Skousen, Duane Crowther, and Hyrum Andrus. Great entertainment, but don't take them too seriously. If Newell relies very much on Erickson, I can't have too much confidence in his scholarship. Roy Schmidt >>> Jeffrey Needle 02/19/01 05:09AM >>> The second concern has to do with sources. All authors use sources, and Newell acknowledges their contribution to his work. Cites from these sources are footnoted, but the footnotes appear at the end of each chapter (I suppose their endnotes, after all), rather than at the bottom of each page. Among his sources are such luminaries as Sidney Sperry and Robert J. Matthews, names familiar to Latter-day Saints as their books are available at Deseret Book. But among the sources is one Einar Erickson, Ph. D. Frankly, I'm not sure who he is. A little information is given about him, but no real credentials. I informally counted twelve references to Erickson. The endnote simply indicated he was citing personal correspondence between Erickson and Newell and his wife. Had the notes been at the bottom of each page, rather than at the end of each chapter, it might have been easier for the reader to judge the credibility of the source. (The lack of chapter headings at the top of each page makes the finding of the notes more difficult.) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 17:28:51 -0700 (MST) From: katie@aros.net Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Thrillers Rachel Ann Nunes has a couple of books, the first one being _Love to the Highest Bidder_, published by Covenant (sorry, I don't have the date--but I know Rachel can fill us in on this--). I read the first one, and it is a thriller, if "thriller" means that it has spies and things. Not much technology that I remember, though-- but it is also a romance *and* it's inspirational. What else could you ask for? ;) (Personally, I didn't think it could be done, but Rachel did it nicely.) I would guess Lynn Gardner's books would fall into a similar category, but I haven't read those. - --Katie Parker - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 17:12:42 +0000 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Prayer Request for Eugene England Thanks for sending this news -- very sad indeed. He will be in my prayers. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 22:08:31 +0000 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Robert NEWELL, _Word History for Latter-day Saints Volume 1:Preexistence to the Promised Land_ (Review_ At 04:32 PM 2/21/01 -0700, you wrote: >Jeff, > >Einar Erickson was a very popular lecturer in the 1970's and early >1980's. He was a dynamic speaker, and produced any number of tapes of >his talks. They may still be available at Deseret Book, where a bought >a couple five or six years ago. > >While he has a lot on interesting insights, I have come to the >conclusion that many of his conclusions are dead wrong. For example he >argues that European Jews who rejected the idea of rebuilding the >temple in Jerusalem became subject to Hitler's ovens because of that >rejection. Unbelievable. How could he come to such a conclusion? >I currently put him in the same category as Cleon Skousen, Duane >Crowther, and Hyrum Andrus. Great entertainment, but don't take them >too seriously. > >If Newell relies very much on Erickson, I can't have too much >confidence in his scholarship. > >Roy Schmidt I didn't mention this in the book, but Erickson is Newell's brother-in-law. This may have something to do with the number of entries in his book. Thanks, Roy, for the feedback. Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:57:01 -0700 From: Gideon Burton Subject: [AML] Update on Eugene England Update on Eugene England: 2/22/01 Eugene England underwent brain surgery on Wednesday, February 21, to remove cysts and a tumor. For some time he had been suffering from blinding headaches and had experienced a general emotional and physical decline that had concerned family and friends. On the evening of Tuesday, February 20, his brain began hemorrhaging and he suffered a paralysis on his left side. For several hours Wednesday morning doctors removed two golf-ball sized cysts from the area behind his eye, and partially removed a tumor. This required removing the right front lobe of his brain. Whether the tumor is malignant will not be known until the pathology report comes back on Friday. There is a possibility of full physical recovery. However, the area of the brain affected controls personality, and there is concern as to whether he will return to his normal self. As of early Thursday, his wife reported that Gene was conscious, that he could move his left leg but not his right hand, and that he was coherent enough to ask questions, give out accurate phone numbers to handle some business, and to joke about his slurred speech. The family is encouraged but tensely awaits the pathology report. Eugene England is well-known and well-loved for his many writings and frequent speaking on Mormon subjects. Recently retired from BYU, he resumed teaching Mormon literature at Utah Valley State College where he is now Writer in Residence. The many people whom he has taught and inspired continue to pray for as full a recovery as possible. For further information about Eugene England's career, see his biography at the Mormon Literature Website: http://humanities.byu.edu/mldb/b-englae.htm Gideon Burton - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 09:14:32 -0700 From: Margaret Young Subject: [AML] Update on Eugene England This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------04CEA994633280AA283CD691 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit What follows is Karen England's report of her father-in-law's condition and exactly what happened. We all have Gene in our prayers. - --------------04CEA994633280AA283CD691 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Return-path: Received: from DIRECTORY-DAEMON.EMAIL1.BYU.EDU by EMAIL1.BYU.EDU (PMDF V6.0-24 #45325) id <01K0ELECW5LS93D25N@EMAIL1.BYU.EDU> for mby@email.byu.edu (ORCPT margaret_young@byu.edu); Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:55:33 -0700 (MST) Received: from mail-web.uvsc.edu ("port 16104"@mail-web.uvsc.edu [161.28.224.158]) by EMAIL1.BYU.EDU (PMDF V6.0-24 #45325) with SMTP id <01K0ELEAFBHQ923TFD@EMAIL1.BYU.EDU> for margaret_young@byu.edu; Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:55:27 -0700 (MST) Received: from MAIL-WEB-Message_Server by mail-web.uvsc.edu with Novell_GroupWise; Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:53:51 -0700 Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:53:23 -0700 From: Dorice GALBRAITH Subject: Fwd: Re: Get Well - Gene England To: margaret_young@byu.edu Message-id: MIME-version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 5.5.2.1 Content-type: message/rfc822 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 08:48:29 -0700 From: "Karin ENGLAND" To: "Rob CARNEY" ,"Dawn CHASE" , "Robert COUSINS" , "Karen DODWELL" , "Tamara FRITZE" , "Steve FULLMER" , "Dorice GALBRAITH" , "Laura HAMBLIN" , "Larry HARPER" , "Bonnie KYBURZ" , "Rick MCDONALD" , "KATHRYN MCPHERSON" , "Lee A. MORTENSEN" , "Julie OVERMAN" , "Kirk RASMUSSEN" , "Linda Shelton" , "Joe STRANGE" , "Paul TANNER" , "Deb THORNTON" , "Charles VOGEL" , "Jans WAGER" , "Jen WAHLQUIST" , "Laurie WOOD" Subject: Re: Get Well - Gene England Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline Many people have inquired about Gene's health so I am writing this to = update you on the current situation. Tuesday night mom and dad went to the = symphony, which dad had a hard time staying awake for. He had been = sleeping a lot in the past few weeks, and his depression wasn't improving. = About 1:30 in the morning he work up with terrible pain in is head, became = sick and couldn't use his left side. Mom managed to pull him out to the = car and get him to the hospital where they did a CAT scan. The results = showed some kind of growth with massive bleeding in his brain so they = ordered an MRI. She called me at 3:38 and asked me to come to the = hospital. I arrived at 4:15 as they were taking him in for the scan. Our = biggest concern at this time was whether the growth was operable or not. = At 5:30 doctor Reichman came in and showed us the scans. Dad had about = five cists the size of golf balls in his right temporal lobe with massive = bleeding. To our great relief the doctor said this was operable with = minimal permanent damage other than some peripheral eyesight lost. He said = he did not see a tumor but did not rule it out since there was so much = bleeding. They operated immediately and by nine the doctor reported that = the operation went smoothly but that they had found a tumor and did not = know if it was malignantor benign. Lab results will tell us in about two = days. Naturally we were greatly relieved to have him survive the night but = tempered by this new development. As the anesthesia wore off that day Gene = regained consciousness and was able to recognize people by voice since he = could hardly open his eyes. In a semi-couscous state he asked what had = happened to him and expressed great concern about his job, teaching, = students, and other work obligations, as well as small attempts to be = humorous. He has limited use of his left side, which may be the result of = permanent damage due to the hemorrhage or temporary due to the swelling of = his brain. Preliminary signs are encouraging that he will regain much of = his motor skills within a week, but that is still a best case recovery. = Some of you know that Gene has suffered from major, uncharacteristic = depression for the last four months. Many of us thought this may have been = due to a chemical imbalance aggravated by work or delayed response to the = conditions leaving BYU. Since the temporal lobe deals with emotions it is = easy to conclude that the tumor is responsible for his past behavior. I = asked the doctor about this and he said they may be related but then again = they may have nothing to do with each other. There is no direct correlation= . He did say that if Charlotte had delayed bringing him in, Gene would = have died that night. Regardless of the news regarding the tumor, we are = grateful for the work the doctors have done for him and that he is alive. = We appreciate all of the calls of sympathy and support from friends and = ask for your prayers and hope.=20 Mark England markengland41@hotmail.com - --------------04CEA994633280AA283CD691-- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 03:21:35 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) PRODIGAL JOURNEY by Linda Paulson Adams Volume One of "Thy Kingdom Come" June 2000, Cornerstone Publishing and Distribution Trade paperback, 517 pages "A First Novel You Can Love--and Hate (for Reasons of Envy)" Five hundred and seventeen pages consumed in a few days. Need I say more? Adams has managed to write an LDS character novel that: (a) doesn't have a Mormon as the character being studied (b) hits the perfect balance between including LDS references and not beating us over the head with them (c) virtually never gets maudlin (d) depicts all sorts of wretched behaviors and conditions of humanity (e) develops the character magnificently (f) develops the plot at the correct pace, neither boringly too slow, nor unbelievably too fast (g) crafts a near-future America that is reasonably believable (h) has relatively few LDS characters, who actually have some unflattering traits, and don't even try to convert the main character to the Gospel (i) has nifty speculative elements to it (j) won't let you put it down And she does it all in her first--repeat--first published novel. Don't you hate it when that happens? Alyssa Stark is an abused teenager. But Adams doesn't tell the reader that in as crass a way as I just did. The first chapter introduces us to the concept in a subtle way as Alyssa plays with Peter, a lifelong friend of the family not quite two years older than her: "What happened?" he called as he got closer. "I fell into some kind of hole," she said. "The grass was long and I didn't see it coming." Peter reached her, panting with the exertion. "How bad is it?" "I heard it snap." Her voice broke. "It hurts bad." Her lower lip trembled and she tried to blink back tears, but a few spilled out anyway.... "Hey there, don't cry," he said. "We'll have you fixed up soon. It'll be all right." He stood, shifting his weight from foot to foot, scratching his elbow nervously. She still looked at the ground, visibly shaking, but not making a sound. Finally she sniffed and said, "I ripped my T-shirt too." "So?" He sat down near her, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. "I think we've got bigger worries than that. Huh?" He tried a small laugh. She looked up. "You don't understand. This was brand new. I ripped it on this stupid dead branch when I fell." She shoved the branch away angrily, wiping her tears with her hand and sniffing. "It's just a shirt." He shrugged.... "She'll probably never let me wear a T-shirt again. I finally got her to let me have one. Now I'll be lucky if I ever get to play outside again."... She smiled, but then a shadow came over her face. "Peter, you have to promise not to tell," she whispered. "Well, gee, it's obvious you're hurt," he said. "We need to get you some help." "No, dummy. I mean you can't tell anybody that you saw me...you know...cry." Her face flushed red as she said it and she looked away. "What's the big deal? You're hurt pretty bad." "Alyssa Stark never cries," she said, straightening herself up as much as possible. She winced. "Never." Remember, the reader has no clue at this point what kind of a family Alyssa has. That information is revealed gradually, while remaining completely true to Alyssa's point of view. She doesn't think anything about her situation that's unbelievable. She takes longer to realize that her family life is abnormal than the reader does. She deals with her tribulations in believable ways, but ways which are spelled out matter-of-factly in her own words, without any hint that there's something unnatural about what she does. But deep down she knows there has to be a better life for her, and she longs for the day when she can legally escape her abusive mother. That day comes when she leaves for college in the ultra-urban and ultra-corrupt environment of Central City. This book is divided into three parts, reflecting three major divisions in Alyssa's life. Part One is excellent. By now the reader is hooked and is completely immersed in Alyssa's life. Part Two carries the ball well from Part One, until about halfway through. Part One shows very little signs of being speculative fiction. But the speculative nature of the book comes forth with a vengeance in the middle of Part Two. Alyssa, trying to deal with her past and with the death of her weak but kindly father, gets involved with drugs. But the drug she chooses is much more than what it seems. Strange things begin to happen, things which she assumes are hallucinations, but are clearly more substantial than that. This sudden rush of speculative elements seems to break the carefully crafted atmosphere of the story, which felt pretty mainstream up to this point. A bit more foreshadowing of this would probably have helped keep the flow smooth through this part of the book. But it's a minor flaw. It's not like there were _no_ indications that strangeness was on its way, especially if you read the foreward and the prologue. More reflective of Adams' novice status as a published author are the sudden proliferation of references backward in time to things Alyssa had done, just at the moment we needed to know them because they were becoming important to the story. The first one that jumps out at the reader is the knife: Walking alone in Central City at night could be dangerous, in spite of computerized surveillance in public areas. She would be in a group, but still, there might be danger. Murder, theft, and outright rape were illegal, of course, even if many of the things that tended to cause them were not. One of the first things Alyssa had purchased on arriving at college was a small pocketknife, a swichblade that was short, sharp and ready to defend her in an instant. She took a weaponry class that first summer and learned how to use it, should she ever have to. She carried it on the rare occasions when she went out alone.... She had never used the blade, but she put it in her pocket anyway, before leaving. She fingered it in her pocket as she went down the apartment stairs, careful not to press the button, slightly apprehensive about what she would find ahead of her. This is a much more egregious violation of the principle of foreshadowing. This information should have been conveyed when it happened, not when Adams needed us to know in the story. We should have watched Alyssa purchase the knife, heard her thoughts as she decided to, witnessed her weaponry class, seen on two or three occasions how she carried the knife with her, fingering it carefully, feeling apprehensive about being out alone in Central City. All these absent scenes would not only have avoided the "Oh, by the way..." feeling of being told about the knife after the fact, but they were missed opportunities for greater characterization. Adams does this several times with various pieces of information. The book could have used one more draft where these instances were identified and woven into their proper position in the timeline so their revelation to the reader felt natural and not forgotten until needed. But again, these were defects easily overlooked, because the life of Alyssa Stark means too much to us by now for us to worry about it. Alyssa learns that, harrowing as her life had been, others have had it much worse, and that she is able to sink even lower than she has been and does. She reaches the point where she can recognize that, even as an abused child, she was a still a rich spoiled kid and had a lot to learn about life. Whether she will be able to rise above her upbringing and learn those needed lessons is the question the reader longs to have answered. Friend Peter's family joins the LDS church early on in the story, but the event is again subtlely handled, so the reader probably wouldn't even notice it was the LDS church they joined were this not an LDS novel. Friend and roommate Debra (and a black woman, although the book makes no big deal of this fact), is also an LDS member. The clues are there to discover, but again they are subtle and probably helped by the fact that we are expecting some LDS people to show up. In fact, lots of things happen that are significantly LDS, but practically none of it is directly named as such. Adams hits the perfect balance in this, as she should, since the point of view character knows nothing about the church, knows little and cares nothing about religion, and wouldn't notice any of this stuff. There was one scene that I had a lot of trouble with: a brief appearance by the Savior. Not that I object to having the Savior be a character in a book. But I didn't think the circumstances warranted it. There was a miracle involved, and the miracle was handled at least as well as the one in the film _God's Army_, but I didn't think any justification existed for the Savior to be involved. The scene is a vital plot point and sets up another vital plot point to come. But something needs to be adjusted for the reader to feel like the scene is one that might actually happen. And there was one character I couldn't accept. One relationship, actually, since the character was okay. Peter's fiance is a very unlikeable, if tragic figure. Too unlikeable, because I found it completely unbelievable that Peter would have remained attracted to her long enough to become engaged to her. Her unlikeable aspects are necessary to the plot, but she needs to have some positive traits brought out as well, so we can accept that the relationship would happen in the first place. Something's got to appeal to Peter besides that pretty face. But overall, _Prodigal Journey_ was a wonderful reading experience. The characterization was masterful and moving. The plot was structured with the confidence of an expert. The book wraps up Alyssa's prodigal journey both in a satisfying and a yearning way. No neat, tidy package ending, even for the elements of the story that are supposed to be wrapped up in this first volume of a series. But the hope of positive outcomes is held out like an olive branch peace offering, even as many threads are left dangling in the wind for future volumes to tackle. If this is Linda Adams first published novel, what wonders do we have in store for us in novels to come? - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 11:26:14 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: [AML] SAMUELSEN, _Three Women_ (Performance) To the AML List I would like to invite you all to a performance of an evening of Mormon = drama: Three Women; three short plays of mine about Mormonism and women. = These plays will be performed in the Little Brown Theatre, across the = street from the Villa Theatre in Springville UT, 239 S. Main. The = performance dates are Feb. 22, 23, 24 and March 1, 2, 3. Tickets are = available at the door, and cost $7. $6 for students and seniors. =20 The three plays which make up this trilogy are called Bar and Kel, = Community Standard and Judgment. Bar and Kel was recently published in = Irreantum. (I've changed the title slightly--one of the actresses told me = that Kel spells her name with one L, and who am I to argue?) Each play is = performed with a cast of three actresses. We did the three plays at BYU = in 2000, and the director of that student production, Wendi Keller, has = directed this one as well. Bar and Kel tells the story of two women, Barbara Bartlett and Kellie = Frandsen, who decide to make a project out of reactivating a woman who has = just moved into their ward. Kel, the more thoughtful of the two, begins = to have some doubts about some aspects of the project. =20 Community Standard is about Janiel, who has been called to serve on a jury = charged with determining the community standard for indecency--a pornograph= y trial. Over the course of the play, the experience causes her to = reflect over her own very troubled marriage. =20 Judgment is about three roommates at BYU, Mildred, Brittany and Sharon. = Sharon is concerned about Mildred, who has apparently flipped out, and = tries to reach out to her, while Brittany is far more worried about not = flunking out of school. =20 A number of you on the List have been kind enough to support new LDS drama = in the past--I am deeply grateful. I hope that those of you who are able = to do so will come see Three Women. =20 Eric Samuelsen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:33:34 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] SAMUELSEN, _Three Women_ (Performance) Eric-- What age qualifies one for the senior discount? It seems to me that as I come closer and closer to that golden number, it keeps moving away ahead of me! The only place I know that still gives a senior discount at 55 is a pretty bad restaurant where I don't want to eat anyway-- barbara hume Tickets are available at the door, and cost $7. $6 for students and seniors. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #265 ******************************