Sign Languages by James Hannah (1994)

162 WesternAmerican Literature Chloride. She is replaced by a young look-a-like, Joan Gallant. At tale’s end, Joan finds to her confusion that she has become Roselle More for keeps. Another long-ago resident back for a visit is “Bird” Peacock, late middle-aged, the sole surviving offspring of a once-wealthy Chloride pioneer family. Last time “Bird”was home he convinced the local downtown merchants that he had a money machine that converted singles into ten dollar bills. “Bird” is in love with Roselle, or so it seems. Vignettes or snapshots ofminor and supporting characters abound, includ­ ing the merchants of the dying downtown as a Greek chorus, of sorts. Other vividlydepicted characters include Roselle’shigh school drama coach, the town historian with the requisite addled memory, plus an assortment of Hollywood-types drawn to Chloride by Roselle’svisit. Influences of Latin America’s “magic realism” literary movement, Charles G. Finney’s Southwest tale, The Circus ofDr. Lao, and Joan Didion’s Hollywood tale, Play It As It Lays, all seem somehow present in this, Swan’s second novel (her first, the critically well-received Carnivalfor the Gods). Shakespeare’s Puck, Twain’s Tom Sawyer, and Indian America’s trickster-coyote are found in the “Bird”Peacock character. Scenes of the nineteenth century Indian wars, plus a Chloride-inspired playscript help close out the final chapters of this sometimes straightforward, other times complicated tale. An ambitious, off-beat novelwith a strong cerebral bent, Swan’s GhostDance challenges the reader to take a different look at the modern-day West. JAMES B. HEMESATH Adams State College Sign Languages. By James Hannah. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1993. 168 pages, $19.95.) Sign Languages,James Hannah’s second book, is a collection of nine stories of people whose lives, generally comfortable and unexamined, are abruptly disturbed by the unexpected. His characters struggle, with varying degrees of success, to cope with or take advantage of the sudden opportunity for change. The author displays a good technical command and wide range of language, tone, and voice, but the plotting and execution is uneven, with some stories succeeding, others muddled, and some failing to become stories at all. “Interstate” is a deft story of how a young daughter’s illogical panic brings home to her father the possible consequences of his contemplated adultery. “Residue,” about a man facing the bleakness of his life due to his inability to commit himself emotionally, is over-obvious and weak. “Histoire de mon Reviews 163 temps,”based on the interesting premise of an old black man who constructs a life around objects he has gleaned from a roadside, is muddled and unconvinc­ ing in voice and execution. “Backyards”begins as an interesting look at a mild, inhibited man’sattraction to a group offeral children, but falls apart mid-wayin a contrived assault by their vagrant father. “Gypsy Moth,” told from the view­ point of a serial killer, presents an internal morality that fails to be consistent or convincing, while “Rising Water, Wind-Driven Rain”fails mostly because it has the ambition of a novel stuffed into too small a frame. The final story, “Sign Language,” stands out as a solid tale of a man left alone by his family for a weekend. He struggles to break free of his ill-fitting persona, and through accident seeks shelter for the night with an old couple, providing them all with a moment of grace. The author comes across as a man who wants to believe in compassion and love, but lacks the conviction to say so. Although several stories are promising, on the whole this collection reads too often like well-crafted reportage of various details, sordid to ordinary, and thus fails to rise above mere technical ability. DAVID MARSHALL Pullman, Washington HonorableRelease. By David Gagon. (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992. 249 pages, $14.95.) This novel, set mostly in Brazil, is the story of two Mormon missionaries, friends from the same neighborhood, who both become ex-patriots because one baptizes and makes love to ayoung woman and the other can’t reconcile his friend’s actions. The author manages to include many formula elements of Mormon...