sift meaning from events, extract knowledgernfrom narration. The narrator isrnconvinced that vision is attainable onlyrnthrough revision.rnThrough this leisurely journey intornthe sensibilities of the now retired art historian’srnmusings on his past, his family,rnand his career, Taylor implies that therncreation of art is more a matter of choicernthan fate. Nathan Longfort’s real loss isrnnot the cousin who vanished, but ratherrnhis own lost opportunities. His failure isrna failure of nerve and of will and of effort.rnThe recognition of his son’s talent is forrnNathan Longfort a confrontation withrnhis own failure. In the beauty and originalityrnof Brax’s paintings’, the father seesrnthe fulfillment of a promise he himselfrnhad abandoned. It is a small moment,rnyet pivotal to the meaning of the entirernbook. In reconciling himself to whatrnis, to what has come to be, the father isrnleft disconnected, enerated, and mute.rnThereafter, the arrival of the morningrnmail, the ring of the telephone no longerrncause him to glance up. That this son isrnnamed Braxton Bragg Longfort is apparentlyrnan ironic reference to the historicrnnamesake who brought doom to Tennesseernand, in effect, the whole Confederacyrnthrough his self-interest and ineptitude.rnThis Braxton Bragg is perhapsrnmore of a Nathan Bedford Forest in hisrnunconventionality and his devotion to arncause, just as Nathan Longfort is in somernways the real Braxton Bragg.rnAlthough Taylor’s first full-scalernnovel, A Summons to Memphis, won thernPEN/Faulkner award and the PulitzerrnPrize in 1986, In the Tennessee Countryrnis the superior work. Its characters arernmore sympathetic (and complex), its humorrnmore effective, its themes and ideasrnmore compelling. Perhaps the greatestrndistinction is simply a matter of taste,rnhowever. While the first novel dwellsrnmainly in an arid truncated world of thernpresent, the second renders tellingly thernlure of the past, where, despite folly andrnmeanness, gallantry is at least expectedrnand the heroic gesture is commonplace;rnwhere, for example, the recitation of poetryrnis a familiar part of family gatherings.rnIn this book, the telling is as importantrnas the story itself. Nathan Longfort usesrnwords generously, conjuring a scene withrnspeculation when he lacks details. Thus,rnhearsay and even the barest skeletonrnof a story become a vicarious dramaticrnrecreation, a tale not only to be relatedrnbut performed as art, just as are Nathan’srnmother’s dramatic recitations. Yet byrnfilling in the gaps with his imagination,rnthe speaker is really attempting to knowinrnthe deepest sense that which herncannot know literall)’. It is as though experiencernbecomes real only when it isrnpast, when it is consumed by time andrnpreserved as art.rnLoxley F. Nichols teaches in thernEnghsh and Writing/Media departmentsrnof Loyola College in Baltimore,rnMaryland.rnFROM COVER-UP TO WHITEWASHrnTHE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., PLAGIARISM STORYrnEdited by Theodore PappasrnA publication of The Rockford Institute. 107 pages (paper).rnOnly $10 (shipping and handling charges included).rn’A work of great seriousness, expressed in a lucid style (a rare combination).”rn—John Lukacsrn’I would not want it said, a century from now, that there was no one willing to stand by Theodore Pappasrnin his advocacy of the integrity of the academy . . . “rn—from the Foreword by Jacob Neusnerrn”The sordid tale of what has become of our institutions of learning and scholarship.”rn—Samuel FrancisrnTo order bv credit card, call: 1-800-397-8160 or send check or money order (made payable to The RockfordrnInstitute) m the amount of $10.00 to Chronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mt. Morris, IL 61054rn(Discounts available for bulk orders.)rn*For immediate service please list on payment or mention when ordering SOIIRCE CODE: AMLKS, and ITEM CODE: MLKB.rn36/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn