`THE CABIN' SHOWCASES MAMET'S REFLECTIONS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 3, 1993                   TAG: 9304030055
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: C10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER LEE PHILLIPS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
`THE CABIN' SHOWCASES MAMET'S REFLECTIONS
The ever-versatile David Mamet is best known for his writings for stage and screen.
He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 with his Broadway hit "Glengarry Glen Ross," and his screenplays include "Hoffa" and "The Untouchables."
"The Cabin" is Mamet's third collection of shorter writings, works which previously appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Harper's, L.A. Times Magazine and other publications. It's a disparate assortment of travel pieces and introspective ramblings in which he speaks the speech of a middle-aged writer, reflecting on fervent years and maturing perceptions.
Mamet's style is sometimes sparse, often to the point of the mere photographic inventory of personal objects like the desk where he writes in his Vermont cabin.
His travel pieces reflect the youthful exuberance of a writer living with success, venturing to Cannes to see the screening of one of his films and marveling at the thrill of arrival brought on by his accomplishments.
The more telling pieces reveal personal experiences in his development as a writer, including his carefree days and nights in Chicago's Hotel Lincoln and the time he sold land over the phone. Surely the latter experience provided the background for "Glengarry Glen Ross."
"The Cabin" is a brief but vital affirmation of David Mamet's ability to capture moments which, though they cannot be repeated, can be clearly imagined in their exquisite retelling.
\ Christopher Lee Phillips, a Washington, D.C., writer, attended Ferrum College.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB