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and ask SEPT. 13th SEPT. 13th SEPT. 11th SEPT. 11th SEPT.14 th SEPT. 14th SEPT. 13th SEPT. 10th SEPT. 10th SEPT. 11th SEPT.14 th SEPT. 14h SEPT. ist funt Tartt‘s debut a study in remorse I used to think that writing mysteries was one of the. easier [ â€" approaches to creating fiction. All you had to do was set up the crime and then work backwards, laying clues for your reader, subtly * building characters capable of the murder. I‘ve never tried it, so remain fascinated by those who have practiced the art. But I‘m even more impressed by the author who lays out the crime on the first page and keeps me hooked by the story leading up to and away from it. When that author is making her debut and receives plaudits from ~ John Grisham and Ruth Rendell (according to the latter, "As a murder mystery it is one of the best I have ever read. As a first novel it takes my breath away, it is so accomplished.‘"), then I am in awe of _ > The author in question is Donna Tartt. The novel is The Secret History. The opening line is: ‘‘The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.‘‘ The prologue closes with: ‘‘I suppose at one time I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story | will ever be able to tell.‘‘ What we have is a clique of friends at a small Vermont college in love with the mysteries of ancient Greek cultureâ€"Theirâ€"weekends are spent in an old country house belonging to a wealthy aunt where they engage in the search for beauty by reâ€"enacting the Greek ritual of bacchanalia. Richard, the narrator, is drawn into the inner circle of five students all more worldly .and affluent than himself. And he is gradually made aware of the bizarre crime that has taken place in their dreamy enchantment that must now be dealt with. For one member of their group, also an outsider who is jealous of their parent‘s money, is using the secret to blackmail them into paying for exotic trips and clothes for himself. Bunny too will die, supposedly accidentally, and the group closes rank as the college, the town and the police search for Bunny. Donna Tartt is about to be famous. So says James Kaplan in this month‘s Vanity Fair, and he is out to help fulfil his prophecy. He tries â€"Promise # 1. This is our promise that no other restaurants have made. A promise of commitment to hospitality from the staff of Casa Nina Restaurant. We promise that during your visit with us we will meet the high standards you have come to expect from us at Casa Nina. And if ever anything isn‘t right, tell us. We promise to make it right. We Want You Back! Reservations Please â€" 888â€"7761 â€" 56 King St. North, Waterioo Because we won‘t make you pay for unsatisfactory food or service. This is the Casa Nina Promise. It‘s a promise we keep. O 2A For one simple reason. @3 irninablienigit sns inscc sc u What permeates the book is the love of learning. Greek is quoted frequently. That this love can combine with the capacity to murder and the characters remain not only believable but as real as our own college friends, attests to Tartt‘s talent. (! recall going with my University English Club to a performance of Dionysus in Toronto in 1970; | too fell under the spell of the Grecian gods.) Their shadow side requires no black demonic palette, merely chiaroscuro greys and plays of light. ‘‘Brilliant‘‘ is too common a word. It should be reserved for debuts like this. The Secret History, Donna Tartt, Knopt, he $27.50 but ultimately fails to get beneath the mystery of the author‘s own* character, how autobiographical is the book, who did she live with while writing it during and after her own college experience, etc. The Secret History took seven yéars for her to complete. Not bad for a 23â€"yearâ€"old. None of that is important, but it‘s all part of the American starâ€"making machinery. A note on the book design. The dustjacket is clear acetate so that the title seems to float over a photo of a Greek bust on the book itself. The type is set in Cloister, and the overall design is aesthetically Chuck Erion is a Waterloo bookseller and freelance writer / I N NP WATERLOO CHARONICLE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2. 1992 â€" PAGE 15 CANDY ROYALE TERLOO! EETwone ‘89â€"‘90 Gallery Magazine Seen on Playboy Channel TERLOQ! KETWOR® Miss Nude British isles 1990 PLUS BATTLE OF THE SEXES Sat., Sept. 5/92 597 King St. N., Waterioo Open Daily, Noonâ€"1 a.m. FLEX APPEAL Miss Nude World ‘89 Miss Nude Sweden Aug. 31 to Sept. 5 2. Dream Theme 3. Fatal Attraction This Week At Starting at 9 p.m 746â€"5209 NHE : 12:40â€"5:10 10:00â€"12:30