the good detective he revers, Stavert scrupulously follows every clue he can {ind to recreate Doyle's activities during the formative years of his liter ary career, a time when he was also establishing his medical practice. A book for aficionados.—Charles Bish- op, Univ. of New Orleans Wilson, A.N. Tolstoy. ‘Norton. Aug. 1988. c.54%p. photogs. bib- liog. index. $25. ur Wilson is not a self-effacing biogra- pher: his slangy voice, strong opin- ions, and sweeping, often controver- sial,” generalizations occupy center stage along with Leo Tolstoy. Him- self a novelist, Wilson pays full due to the restless complexities of charac- ter that led Tolstoy to abandon cre- ative writing to become a cranky but revered religious leader. Wilson seems to have read everything writ- ten about Tolstoy in both Russian and English, and he surrounds his subject’s life with capsule portraits of family members, friends, and disci- ples and sketches of Russian society, politics, and literature. At times the opinionated biographer comes close to edging his protagonist off the stage altogether, but overall the book is a highly readable introduction to Tol- stoy and his world. —Mary F. Zirin, Altendena, Cal. Music Rorem, Ned. Settling the Score: Es- says on Music. THB. 1988 c342p. LC 87-28080. ISBN 0- 15-171698-6. $2755. Music Respected composer and critic R rem is at his irreverent best in this collection of short articles, tributes, and reviews that span the last two decades. Readers acquainted with his published diaries will recognize Ro- rem’s, candid, ‘self-conscious style, though the writing is less precious and gossipy than in previous works. Rorem is capable of remarkable in- sights, as evidenced by a lovely piece on the music of Ravel and an unusu- ally unbiased and generous apprecia- tion of Robert. Craft, Stravinsky's amanuensis. Whether outrageous or merely droll, Rorem is never boring, and this book will amuse musicians and nonmusicians alike.—Larry Lip- kis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, Pa Philosophy Bataille, Georges. The Accursed Share. Vol. 1 ‘Zone Bkcs., dist. by MIT Pr. 1988. c.180p, tr. by Robert Hurley. ISBN 0-942299-10- 8.20.9. Pu. Bataille, a leading writer in France BOOK REVIEW from the 1930s to his death in 1962, offers here nothing less than a new theory of civilization. Economists usually emphasize scarcity: limited means must be carefully allotted to serve conflicting ends. Bataille dis- sents: in his view, much more energy lies available than societies can use. ‘The surplus energy must be dissipat= ed; historically, this was accom- plished through war and spending on luxuries. Though Bataille’s eye for vivid detail is evident, his theory ap- sars more valuable as a framework for his dazzling literary skills than a contribution to knowledge. Probably of greater interest to students of French literature than to economists or historians.—David Gordon, Bowl- ing Green St. Univ., Ohio Poetry Bromige, David, Desire: Selected Po- ‘ems, 1963-1987. Black Sparrow. Aug, 1988. ¢.232p. LC 88- 3409. ISBN 087685-724-1. $20; pap. ISBN 0-87685-723-3. $10. POETRY “One sees the Earth with fresh eyes from the moon,” claims Bromige, and throughout the nearly quarter century of work included here, he al- ways seeks 10 approach experience from singular, and often quite origi- nal, perspectives. Skeptical of both the’claims of the world and the creat- ed reality of the page, Bromige often uses language to disorient. The result is highly elliptical, caustically ironic, and sometimes surreal poetry that aims to liberate experience from cus- tomary definitions. Like Nietzsche who supplies one of the book’s epi iphs, Bromige asks the tions of existence”—and answers them in unusual, surprising ways. A 1988 Western States Book Awards winner—Lawrence Rungren, Bed- ford Free P.L., Mass. Gander, Forrest. Rush to the Lake. ‘Alice James Bks. 1988. 72p. LC 8772606. ISBN 0:914086-78-2. $14.95; pap. ISBN 0- 914085-79-2, $7.95. rorray In his first book of poems, Gander writes of the everyday (walking, kicking a can) and the exotic (Japa. nese sumo wrestlers) in a fresh and exacting style that seems to embody way of thinking often uplifting, yet heavy with a darker vision as well, ‘The poems pose interesting polar ties—between East and West, sexu- ality and asceticism, the pushes and pulls of life and language: “Where a man loves a woman there is an island! of broken horses, stranded wheelb: rows! listing with cement. Morning fa flat blaze.! She boils water. Ner- vous hands.” And later: "The black bar in the gold circle/ of the goat's LIBRARY JOURNAL/AUGUST 1988 eyel shifts.”” It ig a similar shift—a movement just abit surprising, when one is looking carefully, that pro- duces the slight skew of images and language that make these poems so interesting —Jessica Grim, NYPL Hafez. Hafez: Dance of Life. Mage Pubs. 1988, 110p. tr. by Michael Boylan & Wilberforce Clarke. illus. bib- liog. LC 87-24826, ISBN 0.934211-043, $29.95; pap. $16.95, POETRY This introduction to the noted Per- sian poet Hafez is an intellectual gem. It offers not only a select Haféz’s verses in Persian and in ro- manized Persian (for those who wish an idea of the cadence of the orig nal), but two English translations and two sets of illustrations: com- plementing Michael Boylan’s modern translations, illustrated by striking works of Persian art/calligraphy, are translations bordered by traditional Persian art that were done by Wilber- force Clarke in the 19th century. A delightful introduction to a major world-class, author that belongs in any library interested in world litera- ture.—Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis Hall, James Baker. Stopping on the Edge to Wave. Wesleyan Univ. Pr., dist. by Harper: 1988, €.72p. LC 87-33295. ISBN 0-8195- 2148-0. $18.50; pap. $10.95. POETRY Hall’s third volume of poetry con- tains highly crafted poems presented in four sections, each building upon the previous one. Like Wendell Ber- ry, Hall has a talent for describing the beauty of the landscape. His lan- ‘guage is lyrical, yet simple and direct. Indeed, the imagery is crisp: “Black cows move slowly/ on white legs, heads down,/ the moon rises.” An authentic reminder that poetry does enlighten: “It takes all day but finally the last two things/ strike together, if not for the last time,” —Lenard D. Moore, Writer-in-Residence, Wake Cry. Arts Council, Raleigh, N.C. Howe, Marie. The Good Thief. Persea Bks. (National Poetry). 1988. Sip. ISBN 0-89255-1275, pap. 59.95 POETRY Howe's first collection, chosen by Margaret Atwood for the “National Poetry” series, employs a somewhat simplistic, imprecise, yet fashionable surrealism: there are strange noises in the night, birds appear as omens, dead people converse. Premonitions ‘of doom abound, but nothing is ever told fully: “If the man has died, if the child’s illness has, taken a sudden’ turn, if the house has burned in the middle of night/ and in winter, there isat least a kind of stopping that willl pass for peace.” But we never see 161