English Music, by Peter Ackroyd, Penguin Books, 400 pp., paper. “Of course you can’t read it. It’s a looking glass book, You’re only meant to hold it and look as if you’ve read it. That is the meaning of crit- icism,“ SENSE this phrase is a veiled threat to book reviewers. Especially those with a weakness in early English litera- ture. You see, English Music is a veritable excursion through English culture, in looking-glass style. Author Peter Ackroyd has once again turned his scholarship into fiction, | never made it through his book Chattesiun, and t almost lost the thread with English Music. Why? It’s a crafty exercise in appropriation brimming with Dickensian passages and the echoes of English voices which all but drown out the author’s own voice. The story opens up with the reminiscences of Timothy Har- combe. Timothy spent his childhood liv- ing with his father Clement,:a spiritualist who conducted healing meetings in the Chemical Theatre of London, ‘‘where ail the spirits of your past come in dumb show before you.”’ ; What Timothy does not know is that he himself is actually doing the healing during their partnered sessions. . Timothy is schooled at home by his father who introduces him to English art, history and literature. Timothy is extraordinarily sen- sitive. He has visions and elabo- rate dreams, especially while his father reads to him at right from great works of English literature — Defoe, Dickens, Morley, Carroll and others. The dream sequences that BOOK REVIEW follow the story proper contain characters and plot lines from great English books. These ele- ments are interwoven with hap- penings in Timothy’s real life. The first few of these sequences are cleverly done. In chapter two, Timothy steps into a combination Pilgrim's Progress - Alice in Wonderland landscape. Ackroyd parodies the two books to the spirit of the letter. He evokes their occupation with fin- ding salvation (Defoe) and mean- ing (Carroll), applying this to Timothy’s life. Timothy converses with Obstinate and Pliable, excited that he’s found himself in the midst of a story: ‘I never knew that stories could come true, but here | Summer menu unveiled From page23 umbian socialist brothers and sisters are driving those already in the west to drink and worse. Soft summer breezes blowing through Salute’s open glass doors provide an initial antidote to such grim eastern peevishness and slapstick western NDP social engineering. A glass of 1988 Barbaresco with a plate of Smoked Goose Carpac- . cio speeds further recovery. . The goose meat, sliced gossamer . thin, is laid atop a bed of peppery argula leaves that are finished lightly in truffle oil. It is dispatched with vigor, helped along by wonderfully chewy slabs of Saluie focaccia bread. The salad of roasted peppers is topped with capers and thin spears of heart of palm. Garlic and lemon add depth and zest. 1 Large Pizza (any 3 toppings) ONLY t Lasagna or Spaghetti 2 Garlic Toast 1 Salad 2 Medium Pizzas (any 3 toppings) ONLY 2 Lasagna or Spaghetti 2 Garlic Toast 1 Salad Of the two entrees sampled, the Beef Tenderloin is superior. Its gorgonzola sauce is excellent, bringing the best out of the deli- cate slices of beef tenderloin with the sharp overtones of the classic Htalian cheese. The plate also includes white asparagus spears — al dente anda bit tough — roast potatoes, and steamed spaghetti squash. The prawn and scallop com- bination is presented in a fine Pernod cream sauce with sun- dried tomatoes and black olives. It is also very good, but the pair- ing of olives and sun-dried tomatoes somewhat overpowers the delicate seafood flavors. Still, both meals are thoroughly enjoyed, as is the entire return visit to Salute. Little wonder that the east is moving west. ig! $45.95 980-5757 95 *2 ns Se am in the middle of one! Do you think a book could be written about me?” The two characters are doubtful. The dream is actually a sort of mock pilgrimage. Christian heads off to Wonderland and Alice to the City of Destruction. Before they fade away, Chris- tian, Alice and the Mad Hatter sing “For us, our toilsome days are now ended. But you, now Art and Life are strangely blended...” As the older Harcombe puzzles about his life and the path that he took, more details of his childhood unfold. A second dream sequence un- ravels in Dickensian style. This time, Ackroyd summons the theme of Great Expectations — how do men know who they are? With a little twist, Ackroyd has Pip considering his biological in- heritance: ‘My appearance, my manner, everything ... from what — from whom — have | inherited it?’ Naturally this is the preoccupa- 1629 Lonsdale Avenue Across from Extra Foods 'N. VANCOUVER 985-6815 4&& It seems to exist in the shadow of the other greater works it evokes. #9 tion of English Musicalso. In a third dream sequence, just after the young Timothy runs away from his grandparents’ home to search for his father, Ackroyd does a bang-up job on Sherlock Holmes. Timothy meets a man in grey trousers and frock-coat whom he believes is the great detective who will help him find his father. In fact, he is Austin Smallwood and has never heard of, nor does he resemble, the great fictional mastermind. They go te Timothy's old home, looking for clues. ‘There were three of you last night,’’ says Smallwood, examining footprints. “A child, a heavily built man in his twenties and a female dwarf.” Timothy replies, ‘“! believe | al- ready mentioned them to you, sir.’ In his search for his father, Timothy reflects on his own char- acter and path in life. He finally comes to terms with who his father really is. He realizes the immaterial things he has inher- ited from his father and from the larger English culture whose “spirit” roams the country. There are many more ap- propriated passages on English art and music which become increas- ingly tedious as Ackroyd flogs this literary device to death. MORE SELECT! RIGRE FRIENBLY, KNOWLEDGEABLE HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 7:00am-5:30pm Friday: 7:00am-9:00pm Saturday: 9:00am-5:30pm Sunday & Holidays: 10:00am-5:00pm