Word: carsons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...most Americans would stick to beer and whiskey, the grape farmers in Bill Barich's first novel, Carson Valley (Pantheon; 337 pages; $25), would not have to work as hard as they do. Slaking the thirst of the growing number of wine drinkers takes time and muscle. So where does Arthur Atwater, manager of Victor Torelli's vineyard, find the energy to have a grand cru romance with Anna, the boss's daughter? From the same source of instinctive vitality that drives every other plant and creature in California's wantonly fertile Sonoma County...
Barich, a journalist who has written memorably about horse racing (Laughing in the Hills) and the Golden State (Big Dreams), produces a lot of heat as he cuts across generations and cultures. But Carson Valley is not just another brand of romantic plonk. Barich is a social realist with a fine feel for the similarities between agriculture and love. Both require risk and constant cultivation with no guarantee of success. That is not lost on Arthur and Anna Torelli, who have gone through divorces and are skittish about new commitments. Added to the mix are elements of lonely-guy touchiness...
...succeeds in its search to keep us youthful, at what age do we stop growing old? And wouldn't it be embarrassing to find ourselves married to our great-grandmother's bridesmaid or, worse yet, her mother-in-law? Let the search end now. Grow old gracefully. GENE RATNER Carson City, Nevada Via E-mail
...befuddled expatriate who, when recruited by a dubiously competent spy, makes up information that gets London's knickers in a twist. Is it possible that Le Carre has read Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana? Or could it be that I am just imagining a conspiracy? KIMBERLY CARSON Holderness, New Hampshire...
JUANITA MILLENDER-MCDONALD (D) District 37 (Southern Los Angeles County; Compton; Carson...