Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409140027
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By Julie D'Acci. University of North Carolina Press. $45 (cloth); $16.95 (trade paper).
This book would have made an interesting article. Julie D'Acci sets out to examine the role of television in defining the terms "woman," "women," and "femininity," using the series "Cagney and Lacey" as her case study. The show was extremely popular with female viewers during the six years, 1982 to 1988, when it appeared on CBS. In many ways, "Cagney and Lacey" broke new ground, featuring as it did two strong women as protagonists. They were somewhat unconventional TV characters, not only in their careers as police officers but in their realistic representations of conflicts women experience in both professional and personal life.
Just how unconventional the show should be involved an ongoing negotiation among its creators, sponsors, networks and viewers. The subject of D'Acci's book is interesting; the difficulty is identifying its intended audience. Laden with the jargon of poststucturalism, repetitive and tedious, the book reads like an unedited dissertation. Clarified and abbreviated it might find a more general readership. As it stands, even the most devoted fan of Cagney and Lacey would be daunted by this volume.
- MARY WELEK ATWELL
Undue Influence.
By Steve Martini. Putnam. $22.95.
Steve Martini's fast-paced tale of of lawyers, cops and crime reads like a film version of a John Grisham novel. The protagonist is Paul Madriani whose wife has recently died leaving him as the single parent of a 17-year-old daughter. Before she died, Nikki asked Paul to look after her younger sister, Laurel. Laurel is involved in a child custody dispute with her ex-husband, Jack Vega, a powerful state legislator. Violent murder, however, soon places Laurel under strong suspicion, and Paul finds his promise to Nikki plus his affection for her sister and her children drawing him ever further into Laurel's affairs, especially when she is charged with first degree murder and faces the possibility of the death penalty.
A former trial lawyer, Mancini captures the realistic atmosphere necessary to advance his action-filled and thoroughly exciting plot. "Undue Influence" turns out to be a true page-turner all the way to its startling conclusion.
- HARRIET LITTLE
At Home in Mitford.
By Jan Karon. Lion Publishing. (paper, price not listed).
Reading "At Home in Mitford" provides the perfect opportunity for such languid summer activities as relaxing and dreaming. Idyllic, small and inhabited by loveable characters, Mitford, in the mountains of North Carolina, is the site of Father Tim's church and of endless good will. After watching the evening news or scanning any newspaper, it is refreshing to find such a haven of peace and beauty. The charm of Jan Karon's novel lies in her accounts of ordinary events, the very essence of life, and of neighbors who care for one another. In the tradition of "The Yearling" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," the book shows American society at its best, helping us to believe that such people and places do still exist.
- LYNN ECKMAN
Inca Gold.
By Clive Cussler. Simon & Schuster. $23.50.
Women really are from Venus and men are from Mars. "Inca Gold" proves it. It's got everything: buried treasure, a lost civilization, a classic treasure hunt, evil villains and best of all ... Dirk Pitt, a true hero and a man's man whose heart is pure. He arrives in Peru in time to rescue a beautiful archeologist (but after all, just a girl), defeat the villains and claim his reward. In fact, "Inca Gold" is Boy's Life magazine expanded into a well-written suspense novel.
Every man I know reads Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels. This is my first, but I know I'll never forget it.
- JUDY KWELLER
Mary Welek Atwell teaches at Radford University.
Harriet Little teaches at James River High School.
Lynn Eckman teaches at Roanoke College.
Judy Kweller is vice president of an advertising agency.
Clarification
"Letters From a Sharpshooter," edited by William Hastings and reviewed on this page on Aug. 21, is now published by the University Press of Virginia, price $24.95.
by CNB