d r e a m t i m e  a l i c e

  Book Review by: Rick Schultze.

Mandy Sayer was named one of the ten Best Young Australian Novelists by the Sydney Morning Herald and DREAMTIME ALICE is her nonfiction and American debut. The book is based on the time she spent performing on the streets of New York and New Orleans with her father Gerry Sayer. He was a jazz drummer with a million stories and a strong love for jam sessions and all-night parties. Mandy longed to be a character in his stories and learned to tap dance. They then set off together to satisfy their grand ambitions on the toughest stage in the world, New York. This part of the story is outstanding. They got to New York with only their costumes to their names but became part of the wild world of street performers- jugglers, magicians, fire-eaters, dancers and the like who made their living at the mercy of the elements,

Front Cover Of Book (Ballantine Books Hardcover; $24.95, 352 pages)

the cops, complaining neighbors, and lurking thieves. Sayer tells of New York, a long difficult winter in New Orleans, and their final return to New York. As well as a tale of a street performers life DREAMTIME ALICE is a story of Mandy's transformation from a girl searching for her father's love into a woman who could invent her own language and find her own voice. She sums it up best: "those years with my father made me grow in directions I could never have anticipated. I think those experiences eventually made me a better dancer, a better person, a better writer. For I started off wanting to become a character in my father's story: now he's a character in mine." A very good book. Sayer is a versatile woman to say the least and her story is captivating. It moves along with emotion and excellent cadence. One of those books that keeps you totally into it from start to finish. You can buy DREAMTIME ALICE. On line at these Book Stores (Ballantine Books Hardcover; $24.95, 352 pages) "The View From Here" won't change the world but at least it will shed a bit of light on what's going on around here. To take part in the formation of the column, E-Mail your thoughts to me at yarick@pioneer.net url of this page -- Revised: 1/11/1996 Design By: System Development & InterNet Marketing larpear@trillian.com