jj^ ^^^^^^^^ than a San Francisco interior decora tor. As Mark Twain said ofFenimore Cooper, we cannot too much admire this miracle. Nominally central to the story is theLady, founder of theEmpire, a large chain of pet stores, who becomes more and more like Big Brother inNineteen Eighty-Fourand apparently, according to Robert Buckeye's introductory note, is a symbol of thebrutal capitalism that replaced communism in Slovenia. The closing pages of the novel have a few good Slovenian jokes (notably the exchange "I thought we read for pleasure, not to brag about what we've learned." / "Are we talking about Slovenians here? Nope.") Until thispoint, though the action purportedly takes place in Ljubljana, there is so little solidity of specification that the story could be takingplace anywhere inCentral Europe. At theend, theLady has died? promised eternal peace rather than "profit or Eden." Ira dies alone, but in the epilogue joins theold man of her childhood dreams and isprom ised another chance. The chief survi vor is a young centaur whose func tion is to heal and forgive, though what he represents is not clear, and Buckeye isn't about to touch that subject. Some enterprising anima tor should consider turningMaja Novak's story into a feature-length film. That would capture the essen tialsand get ridofwhat seems likea good deal of dross. Robert Murray Davis Universityof Oklahoma Arjen Terpstra. De Hearen fan Frys l?n Ljouwert, Netherlands. Friese Pers. 2008. 256 pages. 19.50. isbn978-90 330-0782-8 The plot of Arjen Terpstra's debut novel may have its soap-opera ele ments. At times plot and character seem somewhat manipulated for effect, and some episodes are not well integrated. Story threads dis connect and reconnect. So do char acters,often tempest-tossedby high octane events and feelings. And there is high drama, keeping the reader turning thepages. But De Hearen fan Frysl?nhas more than that.Through vivid characterizations and a fluid style, itoffers a fascinating look at the interaction between two cultures and two brothers: their connections and their clashes, and ultimately the one place and person thatgave fulfillmenttoboth. Tsjalling and Tseerd are the twin sons of a well-to-do Frisian farmer. The two could not be more different.Tsjalling iswildly adven turous, impulsive, reckless, and restless, with a constant urge to explore and expand everything as an extension of self. Tseerd, on the other hand, is quiet, introverted, and focused single-mindedly on caring for the affairs of his father's farm. E Yet, contrary toall plans and desires, E it isTseerd who goes toAmerica to E help out a ne'er-do-well uncle strugE gling to hang on to a mismanaged E dairy farm in southern California. E When, again contrary to all intents, E Tseerd stays inCalifornia, thegirlhe = loved and left behind snares brother E Tsjalling.When she is sevenmonths E along with theirchild, they marry. E Back in California, Tseerd is E crushed, but is eventually rescued E fromhis solitary,workaholic lifeby E an irresistible beauty from Montana. E Together theybuild up a huge Mon- E tana ranch.One day, twin Tsjalling E in Friesland is jolted by a strong E psychic feeling that something seri- E ous has happened toTseerd in Mon- E tana. It is at that precise moment E that Monica, Tseerd's beautifulwife, E findsher husband on the floor,dead E from a heart attack. Tsjalling now E knows with an unshakable certainty E that the time forhim togo toAmeriE ca has at lastcome.He leaves behind E thewife thathad been intended for E his brother, aswell as their mentally E impaired son, and replaces his twin E once again as Monica's new lover. E Montana turns out to be the great E life and Monica the great love he E has always sought. They have a son E together, and eventually Tsjalling's E aged fatherand son fromFriesland E come to join thehappy little family E inMontana. E Actually, theplot, partly based E on real events and characters, has E many more layers. There are several E additional family connections made E to signify in both countries; there's E a frontierpreacher who builds a...