TOP OF THE NEWS
Beautiful CHAOS
"The English Major" by Jim Harrison (Grove Press, 272 pages, $24) Here is the magnificent Jim Harrison contemplating heaven and hell through the medium of Cliff, the protagonist of "The English Major": "I wavered between being absorbed in the glories of the landscape and thinking about three friends, really long term acquaintances who had passed on to the next world in the last year, or possibly to no world at all. It seems we are all only one medical test away from certain doom."
DIGEST
'Omega' pushes the boundaries
Atmospherics up to snuff in James mystery
Positive portrayalsin 'Lennon'
The beauty that is
Astaire dances across the pages
Hijuelos turns his attention to young readers
Novel in letters a quick, fun read
Horror in miniature
Kansans get back to nature
'Away' author to visit Wichita
