THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120517
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY PEGGY PAYNE
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
OPAL ON DRY GROUND
SANDRA SCOFIELD
Villard. 279 pp. $20.
IT'S A STRANGE IMAGE - opal on dry ground - calling to mind an actual opal stone, iridescent as moving water, lying in crumbly dirt.
The ``Opal'' of Sandra Scofield's fifth novel, a 58-year-old woman, overweight, with inflamed joints, a spastic colon and irritating relatives, seems at first glance too awkward and uncomfortable to bear comparison to anything as rock-solid or as shimmering as gemstone. But Opal Duffy is indeed a gem - well-meaning, tough-minded and poignant, as she struggles to get her family settled and happy.
Anything but iridescent, Opal is leading a swamped life, carrying more and more weight each day. She climbs onto dry ground finally with the dispersing of her children into their own lives.
The novel is about mothers who won't let go of responsibility, and guilt-ridden, resentful daughters who can't seem to shake themselves loose. At the same time, it's about the love between Opal and her own mother, which seems to shore her up for dealing with the worries about her daughters.
Opal and her family change, but we never see the moment when any one of them makes it happen. What the story offers in lieu of tension or drama is a full and sympathetic portrait of a kind of character who rarely gets to play a serious leading role in fiction or movies. It's a pleasure to spend a few hours with her. MEMO: Peggy Payne is the author of ``Revelation'' and co-author of ``The
Healing Power of Doing Good.'' She lives in Raleigh. by CNB