The various quirks and eccentricities of the residents of the fictional Candle, Alaska, mix together to create some rather memorable sparks, hence the title of this novel by Lilly Goodman. Small towns bring out the best and worst in people and Goodman's tale follows a similar line. Rather than being overly melodramatic, this story is a combination of conflict and humor, with a little bit of Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" splashed in to add to the sentiment Goodman feels for the magnificent Alaskan landscape.

The story is narrated by dog musher Heidi Ravison. Although she tells a good tale, we never learn much about her, except that she shies away from conflict. Heidi can't quite decide where to place her loyalty once the local feudings starts, so she sits on the fence driving the other characters a little crazy and us, too. At one point in this story, she wonders why she is so afraid to stand up for what she believes in and confides her fears to her friend Ella, but it never manifests any further. All the other characters in the book seem to bloom, but at the end she's still budding.

The morals that Goodman puts forth in this novel are about comprise and tolerance. At the end of the dog poo wars, no one in this tiny bush town has really won or attained what they wanted. The key players can't find common ground and many seem to be lost in the end when the government steps in to regulate the conflict. In this respect, Goodman shows us how a few small gestures could have saved a way of life that folks desire when they move to remote areas.

While this is an enjoyable story, no doubt the reader will wish it were longer, or perhaps had a sequel.

Review by Dawn Brunke

Walking My Dog, Jane:
From Valdez to Prudhoe Bay Along the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline
By Ned Rozell (Duquesne University Press, 2000, hardcopy $24.95)

The idea was simple: Ned Rozell and his dog Jane would take a jaunty 800 mile hike across Alaska. Starting in Valdez, the two would follow the oil pipeline northward until they reached the Arctic Ocean. "I wanted a few things from this walk," wrote Rozell. "I wanted the quiet times, alone with my dog. Maybe to learn something about myself, maybe not. I wanted to find out who lives here, where they came from, why they stay."

Those familiar with Rozell's writing style (he writes the Alaska Science Forum and is a frequent contributor to Alaska magazine), will find the tone of this book to be similarly informative and entertaining, with an abundance of appreciation for the quirkiness of life. Rozell's voice is richly descriptive (the Chugach mountains "rise like surfacing sharks") and his story combines history, politics, geography, biology and environmental issues against the underlying economy of oil that thrums continually at his side. As with any good travel tale, Rozell writes perceptively about those he meets along the way -- from mushers to mushroom pickers to those who golf the pipeline -- and shares his insights with a bounty of trivia (did you know there are 33 species of willow in Alaska? Or that the pipeline intersects 834 waterways -- 34 major rivers, 800 streams -- as it meanders across the state?).

As for Jane, beloved chocolate Lab who provides canine humor and companionship throughout the book, one can only smile and concede -- what a great dog! Jane recently died, though not before accompanying her walking partner on several book signings around Alaska. As Rozell later wrote, "She was happy until the end, and the memory of her wagging tail is her final gift. I was very happy Duquesne University Press decided to put her name in the title. A good dog deserves some ink." This well-written, engaging and very enjoyable book is a fitting triubute to Jane and a lovely contribution to Alaskan literature by a gifted writer.

Do you have a book to recommend? Would you like to write a guest book review? Please call or e-mail Dawn Brunke at (907) 373-4667 or brunke@matnet.com.