European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 07, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Books Vonnegut a new tale has old message hocus pocus by Kurt Vonnegut Putnam a and sons 304 pp., $19.95 Dave Goldsmith Scripps Howard news service More of the same from Kurt Vonne gut. More of the apocalyptic vision he has been expounding since the publication of his first novel a player piano a in 1952. More of the cleverness that entertains but does not enlighten the Wacky sense of humor that disguises the deep cynicism of his message. A hocus pocus will disappoint those who continue to Hope for something better or at least different from him and will satisfy that Core of readers who continue to push his novels onto the Best seller list. Who reads Vonnegut these Days not students. Most of today a College crowd has never even heard of him. It must be that generation of �?T60s College students who were enchanted by a the sirens of Titan a a god bless you or. Rosewater a and  because Vonnegut a a message and manner Are both rooted in that Era. He a like an aging hippie standing on the Street Corner reciting the same mantras ignored by All except those who already agree with him. This is in some ways admirable but its also rather Boring. A hocus pocus a like several of Vonnegut a other novels is set about 10 years in the future far enough ahead to qualify for prophecy close enough to the present to use living people and organizations As foils. This is a Clever technique Kurt Vonnegut giving the authorial voice the ring of truth. Thus when the Reader finds that the United states of 2001 has been taken Over by a a japanese army of occupation in business suits a he thinks a it could happen a the japanese also run our prisons As a Money making concern. What a great idea the japanese Arentt the Only conquerors of Post Reagan America. Germany a . Farben has bought out Dupont koreans own the new York times and even such local businesses As a Dubuque meat packing House have been sold to foreigners in this Case to the hilariously named Shah of brat Puhr. All this has happened because the a ruling class planned it. As Warden Matsumoto explains a they looted your Public and corporate treasuries and turned your industries Over to Nincompoop. Then they had your government borrow so heavily from us that we had no Choice but to Send Over an army of occupation in business suits. Never before has the ruling class of a country found a Way to stick other countries with All the responsibilities their wealth might imply and still remain Rich beyond the dreams of avarice no wonder they thought the comatose Ronald Reagan was a great president a in most of Vonnegut a dystopia an idiot savant wanders around dispensing platitudes and getting into trouble. In a hocus pocus its Eugene Debs Hartke professor of physics at an upstate new York College for the mentally and physically impaired. Hartke a guilt Ridden Vietnam Veteran a compulsive Womanizer and a consumptive is fired from his teaching position is appointed brigadier general in the new York National guard becomes Warden of the nearby prison and is indicted for insurrection. His trial lasts for 45 pages but since the outcome is already known to the Reader there is no suspense. As a matter of fact there a no suspense anywhere in the novel because Vonnegut gives away All the denouement Early on. As a dramatic device it just does no to work. The usual Vonnegut satirical targets Are present a War science business pollution. The characters nearly All grotesques done to touch the Reader because they Are embodiments of ideas and not people. And the ideas done to necessarily work. Vonnegut says America is beginning a precipitous decline to second class Power status. Our Day in the Sun is. Over. Well we re not and it Isnit. Last year was one of the great years in human history. We met the enemy and he turned out to be a capitalist at heart. A hocus pocus was passe before it was published. The american dream that Vonnegut refers to in an earlier novel As having floated to the top of a Scummy Pond gone belly up and burst in the Noonday Sun is alive and Well Jeremiah like Kurt Vonnegut notwithstanding. Dave Goldsmith is the author of a Kurt Vonnegut fantasist of fire and  Quot hocus pocus Quot is available at stars and stripes  Olivia and Jai by Rob coca Ryman St. Martins press 640 pp., $19.95 the publishers Bill this Book As a a novel of passion and betrayal in 19th Century India a and it is almost an understatement for this sweeping powerful and Complex Story of business interests global politics and social Back stabbing in this a at the time a isolated Comer of the British Empire. The year is 1848, the setting Calcutta where the Strong willed Olivia born reared and educated in California by her writer rancher Environ mentalist father has been sent to spend a year with her aunt lady Bridget Tom plywood while the widowed father stakes new claims in far off Hawaii. Romance comes in the form of Jai a half Breed hated by the British and known locally As Kala Kanta or the Devil. Jai unfortunately for the British controls the Only Fleet of Clipper ships plying the India England route that All exporters particularly the Temple Woods need desperately. The ground is Laid for scandal treachery and intrigue As the affair Between Olivia and Jai thickens Jai and the Temple Woods clash Over business and old secrets Are revealed. While author Ryman is an admitted pseudonym a because As an Indian her extended family might be embarrassed by the passions described in her Book a it is impossible to believe that this masterful and beautifully crafted novel of Romance and intrigue against such a lavish background could be a first Effort. This is a skilled and articulate work. Don g. Campbell los Angeles times seventh heaven by Alice Hoffman Putnam a 230 pp., $19.95 this is a poignant penetrating shining Star of a Best seller. It is a magical tale of the end of the �?T50s and the beginning of the �?T60s. It is a Story of How people lived by the rules of keeping up your Lawn and minding your own business. But the sleepy suburb of Hoffman a Book sees a change from the Ordinary when Nora silk moves in a and she does no to have a husband and has a whole new sensible Way of looking at things. A seventh heaven is a simply a seventh heaven to read. It is a magical View of the Powers of a change in thinking and a Welcome change from novels about Hollywood wives. Kathleen Ostrander United press International Harvest by Belva Plain delacorte 409 pp., $21.95 Belva Plain fans will be Happy to know there a a new Harvest to reap. A a Harvest is the name of the newest Book of hers to feature the Werner family a the same people who captured your interest in a Evergreen a a Golden cup and �?otapestry.�?�. This Book is consistent with the others and its quite Nice to see where some of the old friends made in previous novels ended up. As is the Case in her other works the characters done to always live happily Ever after but they do manage to stitch things together with that thread of enduring love that the author loves to weave around them. A a Harvest centers on Iris and the now aging Paul Werner. Iris is the daughter of Anna who once had a love affair with Paul. Iris it turns out is the product of that affair. Her life has been pretty cushy but ultimately she and her own family Are tested with their own problems and with the turmoil of the 1960s. A a Harvest is a Story of secret love tragedy uncompromising obligations and pure Devotion in the face of adversity. Belva Plain fans will not be disappointed. And if you re not a fan yet then read this Book and that May change. Shirley Smith United press International All books available at stars and stripes  7,1990