Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993 TAG: 9309290321
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By Tim McLaurin. Down Home Press. $11.95 (trade paper).
Set in a small North Carolina town, Tim McLaurin's novel, ``Woodrow's Trumpet,'' documents an interracial romance between a mentally disabled farmer and a newly sober ex-prostitute. But what begins as a story that would seem to be about prejudice expands to encompass all sorts of differences of opinion. McLaurin, who narrates his drama by weaving in and out of the minds of characters he truly knows, tells about a conflict in which there aren't really any bad guys, just people, worthy of sympathy, who think, behave and live in opposing ways.
The author's prose, descriptive and engaging throughout, flows so confidently that even when you can't quite tell if he's explaining something important, or just taking a supporting character's thoughts and riffing, you're still willing to follow. McLaurin does have a tendency to draw accurate but almost aggressive stereotypes (his yuppies swill zinfandel and own two Volvos; his locals prefer cheap beer and weathered pickups). At times, the tone shifts jarringly, from quirky to gritty to realistic and then back the other way; the changes that occur in his characters often mirror that jumpiness. But, in the end, the beauty and poignancy of this small tragedy more than make up for whatever flaws you have to step around along the way.
- NEIL HARVEY
The Seven Cultures of Capitalism.
By Charles Hampden-Turner and Alfons Trompenaars.
Currency Doubleday. $25.
Ever since Tom Peters became a media celebrity with the publication of ``In Search of Excellence,'' management consultants have tried to break into the mass market psyche with a plethora of poorly written books which rehash basic management thought. The single common denominator of these books is how lucky we Americans are because all business managers just don't know what they are doing.
This book takes this premise one step further - our national psyche is wrong, and we should look toward Holland, Sweden, and Japan to really learn how to create wealth. Well, gentlemen, in case you haven't noticed, our economy with all of its problems is several orders of magnitude better than any other in the world. Perhaps all the ``deficiencies'' the authors find in how we do business here are the very reasons we are successful. Perhaps it is time for a book to be published extolling the business acumen of our managers. After all, most businesses will survive far longer that this compilation of reasons why Americans just can't make in a world economy.
Look past the bashing and notice that when the American economy coughs, the six other ``models'' recognized as world-class become bedridden.
- LARRY SHIELD
Neil Harvey lives in Blacksburg.\ Larry Shield trains dogs and horses in Franklin County.
by CNB