Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1979)
Books Hanta Yo By Ruth Beebe Hill © 1979 Doubleday $14.95 hardback Every now and then a truly fine novel by some unknown author sneaks onto the bestseller list along with all the bigtime novels by all the bigtime authors. Just such a truly fine novel is Hanta Yo by Ruth Beebe Hill. It tells the story of a band of Dakotah Sioux from 1794 to 1835, a period before encroaching trad ers, missionaries and settlers in fluenced and eventuall destroyed the plains Indian culture. The novel has a factual basis. A Dakotah Sioux named Hehaka recorded the history of his people in pictures on a tanned hide. Be f ginning with this scanty record, Hill has reconstructed an entire way of life. She follows two men, Ahbleza and Tonweya, and their families as they mature and assume posi tions of responsibility within the tribe. Ahbleza becomes a warrior and eventually a leader of his band, while Tonweya becomes a scout, a leader of a different sort. The Dakotah travel with the sea sons, hunt and regularly war with rival tribes. Hill’s detailed descrip tions of daily life are testimony to the 25 years she spend research ing Hanta Vo. The novel is a success as a nar rative of adventure alone, but it is much more. Exploring the spiritual consciousness of her characters, Attention Folklorists Professor Barre Toelken’s new book Dynamics of Folklore is now stocked on our shelf in the mythology section. This book will excite both the novice and advanced scholar with its eclectic look at folklore today. $11.95, illustrated. Upstairs in the Tradebook Department THE WINNER OF THE 4fh ANNUAL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST THE 15 FINALISTS WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT OUR VALLEY RIVER CENTER STORE FEB. 26 - MARCH 15 YOUR VOTES WILL PICK THE WINNER son’s WE COMPLETE THE PICTURE the author explains the mystery and significance of Sioux religious ritual — the sweat lodge, the vis ion quest and the sun dance. At the center of Sioux life and thought was “taku skanskan,” life force, “something-in-movement,” “spiritual vitality.” In a series of moving scenes Ahbleza confronts and learns the meaning and truth of taku skanskan. These scenes form the heart of Harrta Yo. It’s the enduring theme of the pilgrim in search of truth and self, enacted this time on the stage of the North American plains. Ah bleza walks the path and be comes a hero to his people, the kind that usually appears only in myth, romance or fantasy. But the author’s attention to his torical detail and her writing skill keep the novel from becoming a misty-eyed vision of what-might have-been. She keeps her characters solidly within the reas suring bustle of camp life. Under the guidance of Chunksa Yuha, a Sioux raised with the old customs and the old language, Hill translated the novel into an ar chaic Dakotah dialect, then re translated it i nto English in order to correctly reflect the Sioux idiom that was spoken almost 200 years ago. Hanta Yo will be successful and long remembered, and it deserves to be. It is history exquisitely styled into fiction. It tells the kind of tale people like to read, and it tells it well. By Martin Stadius r Somebody’s Darling By Larry McMurtry © 1978 Simon and Schuster $10 hardback Larry McMurty, Stanford crea tive writing schoolmate of Ken Kesey, is usually known as a wri ter of Texas fiction. His name may be unfamiliar, but works such as The Last Picture Show and Horseman, Pass By have turned his novels into hit screenplays. With Somebody's Darling, McMurty has written a humorous, sometimes sad, satire of Hollywood’s film industry, its peo ple and their relationships. While the plot is a simple love triangle, a startling cast of minor characters keeps the book in teresting and revealing of a cyni cism pervading the fantasy creating business. There are refreshing portraits of paranoid chauffeurs, sexually frustrated business geniuses, a six-foot-three-inch actress in love with an overdosing, impotent rock star; an ex-AII American producer from Texas who makes his living gambling; the sunshiny Southern California orange juice cult; LA’s version of Austin, Texas; two hilarious scriptwriters from Texas with their legion of groupies and a tragic vignette of a child shot by his movie-star mother. Add trips to the New York Film Festival, Rome and Texas and there is no time in this 347-page story to let up. But for all the chuckles pro voked by McMurtry’s gentle pokes at his vulnerable protagonists, there is a good dose of despera tion. And if a character isn’t desp erate, they’re pathetically apathe tic. A sense of humor, sincerity and love of the industry are McMurtry’s virtues but often cynicism moti vates his characters. Women fall in love to gain power and domi nate weaker men. Men are oppor tunistic, loving women who can provide them with business be nefits. Unselfish relationships ap pear only as friendships, never physically consummated. Essentially, McMurtry is saying love isn’t all it seems. Someone may be everybody’s darling but it’s a hell of a lot harder to be somebody's darling. Since this newest novel won’t be published in paperback for a while, it might be a good idea to catch up with a few earlier McMur try works. All Mv Friends Are Going To Be Strangers is an ap propriate place to start, since many of the characters in Somebody's Darling have been carried over from previous work. McMurtry is no Harold Robbins or Irving Wallace when it comes to selling novels, but he has ac quired a large legion of fans be cause he knows how to teH a human story with memorable characters. By Dave Steinman 1 Theater Line By Israel Horovitz Oregon Repertory Theatre Directed by Carolanne Young March 9 and 10 Hitting imaginary home runs, guzzling beer and singing, a baseball fanatic waits on stage for the members of the audience at the Oregon Repertory Theatre to find their seats. Actor Doug Schroeder delineates his charac ter, Fleming, with a well-timed belch. Soon four others join Fleming on stage: Stephen, a jabbering, eccentric music freak (played by Dan Moore); Molly, a sleazy, bleached-blonde sexpot (Joanie Schumacher); Dolan, a well dressed organization man (Will Morningsun); and Arnall, Molly’s wimpy, leisure-suited husband (Andrew Traister). As the five form a line, each try ing to trick, force or seduce his or her way to the coveted first spot, Line by Israel Horovitz is off and running. Not many plays are suitable for a midnight showtime, but Line fits the bill. It’s a short, lively farce about an all too common aspect of modern existence, flawed only by the playwright’s insistence upon inserting a “Profound Message” into the ending. But director Carolanne Young has a good instinct for the com edic strengths of the play. The ac tors develop their roles with large humorous strokes; there’s no time for subtle characterization. When Molly slithers onstage in a skin-tight, imitation leopard jump suit, the nature of her personality is instantly obvious. The play ends before the superficiality of the characters becomes a hindrance. Metaphysical garbage, the end ing comes as a surprise, but an inappropriate one. Horovitz will never make it as a philosopher. The actors deserve better for they are a well-rehearsed, professional bunch. Luckily, they rush through the ending before it wrecks the rest of the play. Line is the second in the Oregon Repertory Theatre’s series of Midnight Mafia presentations. If the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” isn’t your idea of late night enter tainment, try Line. It’s guaranteed to keep you awake. The play begins at midnight Fri day and Saturday. Admission is $2. By Martin Stadius —emu Cultural Forum 1979-1980 CULTURAL FORUM COORDINATORS Applications are now being taken for the following positions: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES FILM AND UTERATURE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS JAZZ/BLUES CONCERTS FOLK MUSIC CONCERTS POPULAR MUSIC CONCERTS The deadline for applying is April 6,1979. Interviews will be conducted April 9 -13. (These are non-salaried positions) Applications available in EMU Program Office • Suite 2
