Sport quickly becomes tragedy when the hunters become the hunted.
The unlikely hero is a woman with roots in the Maine woods who attends the hunting expedition to confront her own past. My initial response to ''The Purification Ceremony'' was one of skepticism. It didn't take me long, however, to find ''The Purification Ceremony'' an utterly satisfying novel that transcends conventions. I found it more along the lines of Dickey's ''Deliverance'' blended with a healthy dose of Carlos Castaneda. He lives in central Vermont and is a frequent contributor to Yankee Magazine, The Boston Globe, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield.