Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'Roomm< from ncit By Ronda Temple ton Entertainment Editor For some of us, living with a roommate is easy, but for others it can be a trying, harrowing experience. TAKE THE CASE of the roommates in Jacqueline Wein's aDDroDriatelv titled ROOMMATE (Signet, $2.25). "A lot can happen to two young girls living alone in the big city. Especially when they're single. And beautiful," boasts the title page teaser for Wein's novel. Wein's subjects are typical stereotyped examples of the Sway every writer represents a city girl of the late-1970s. The women work in corporate offices by day and swarm to singles bars by night. As Wein says, "They (make it with whomever they want whenever it clicks. RiTAr?*inrfn mai i iagu auu rvius ai C 1U1 i the distant future, if ever. "THIS IS a novel about two of them. One who made the scene and loved it and one who tried but was terrified by it. Each came too close to the other for comfort - or safety." That should tell the reader something right there. Obviously the two girls do not share an idyllic friendship. Marilyn is murdered before the novel begins and her roommate, Stephanie, is the lucky one who comes home form a shopping spree to discover her mutilated body. (Someone has killed her with the uncommon murder weapon turning out "i sc FOR STU1 Ar**rn FA Thursday, IS Bach Pa Russel 11:00 3:00 Exhibition: Tvri^ -J ? ?i? w tituaurjif Fencing Cli Equestrian Whitewate and more! I - rttf>9 m rsr%r v mystery to be a ski pole.) vi; The reader knows little nc about Marilyn, and that M could be Wein's biggest ar mistake in the writing of her e> novel, rne reaaer never ac develops any sympathy for gc the dead woman. What's w< worse, Stephanie is such a ninny we can never warm to gc her, either. Oi MARILYN'S WHOLE pc person can be summed up in c < one paragraph. She is young, p; Krirtlif oinrfin or?/4 i?f?ft?1 >-? wi Ague, 011151c auu u^auuiui ? iu as well as totally uninhibited of and unselective about her ly sex life and sexual partners. a{ This isn't the kind of novel that is successful in keeping u] the reader uncertain about ol the murderer's identity - in hj fact, anyone with a brain can fe figure out that Stephanie is ul the culprit within the first w few chapters. After all, m would an innocent woman b< tiraf hot* nonfc in TTVV I1VI putivo VVWK jr Ullit/ U1V/ murder is mentioned? y< Then there is also the fact w that Stephanie, unknown to fi Marilyn, had been seeing a M psychiatrist about her sc inability to achieve sexual h< gratification from any partner. And Marilyn's 11 overactive sex life (a dif- [~~ ferent man every afternoon in addition to her regular boyfriend each night) certainly didn't help Stephanie feel any better about her problem. Add to that Stephanie's constant complaints about what an inconsiderate slob the dead girl was and the reader knows who the murderer was in no time. THE ONLY OTHER \ LITTLE mETHING EVERYO at the DENT riTIES UK Sept. 4, mo tio of the i Mouse a.m. to M m J <c hii* ig Club ub 1^ t Club r Club \jppj >d effort writer able suspect in Wein's >vel is, a little obviously, arilyn's boyfriend who is igry about her frequent ;tra-curricular sexual :tivities and her refusal to away with him for the eekend. wnere aid ne want ner to >? Why, skiing, naturally, illy he isn't missing a ski >le and Stephanie is always )mplaining to her ;ychiatrist about her >ommate's disgusting habit leaving her ski equipment ing around in their jartment. While it's hard to conjure 3 any sympathy for either tne roomates, it's even arder to gather any afiction for the book's itimate heroine - the one ho eventually solves the lurder - the nosey neighor, Rosa. Of course, Rosa ikes the poor, innocent Dung boyfriend under her ing and tries to help him nd out who really killed [arilyn - all the while jrving him hearty dishes of er homemade spaghetti. To make the novel still lore unbelievable is the fact ?. I NE" I I ^ vb SB (QflnfiHwAA I fflHlBI* l?l ByT/lBIl^ rava I |?b that Rosa discovers Stephanie is the culprit with the help of a mute stroke victim living downstairs. The mute woman literally spells out the fact that Stephanie actually came home from her shopping spree an hour before she told police she did -- and had time enough to change clothes, run back downtown, buy another sweater so the time would show up on the store recoras, men run nome tc "discover" the body. THE NOVEL, Wein's first, would be less-than-adequate if it weren't for the intriguing method she uses to tell the story. Wein skips from present to past tense, from third to first person to tell her tale. The book is. indeed, auite bloody and a little frightening -- especially if 1 . IAsk aboi Tiffany Spec l6ozsoft drin Glass onlv - SB -Gamecock Sr ' mm. ^IHRt /^/^M I IK ^DIA K /I A I 1 V.yWl_UI VIDIAA I VIAAL.L W L_ you live with a roommate. It I is also an interesting plunge into the mind of the ] criminally insane. I But just remember. When t your roommate looks i disgusted and says you've i < use Super Cooler < Holds 24 cans foi J the football seasor < or parties for ar^ J reason ut our Y , Class ^\J\ :ial v W ik & glass - go* 4 lack Bar and Si Only* WELC o~ri irsi v siuui !m five f please d ^^jtosee u< f&^vyou[ H/ } * EV ELI U IN i , F r 5 i V 1 \ \ . v * : it t " u\ )UTCH SQUARE FIVE POINTS been seeing too many men (or women), when com plaints about your sloppiness begin to abound, you'd better :heck your closet to make sure there are no ski poles around. 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