The Grotto Berg: Two Novellas

Neider is a leading expert on Mark Twain, and is also known for such fiction as Red Cavalry, The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones (which became the Marlon Brando movie One-Eyed Jacks) and The White Citadel. His work has won the praise of critics as eminent as Thomas Mann, Saul Bellow, E.M. Forster and Aldous Huxley; he is now well into his 80s. The two novellas here make an odd pair. The title tale tells of uneasy relations between a nature photographer and the skipper of an Antarctic research vessel, which end in a sudden and Conradian tragedy; reminiscent of Conrad, too, is the sense of irreconcilable personalities in an exotic environment. Indeed, it is Neider's writing about the beauties and terrors of the remote Southern Ocean that offers the chief rewards of this strange story, which is otherwise handicapped by its third-person narrative, when insight into the photographer protagonist's mind is essential. The Left Eye Cries First is an equally enigmatic affair. Sid Little, an aging, retired lawyer in New York City, is visiting his dying friend Dick Gallagher, and, in the course of his visits, recalls at length a recent trip to see his family in a remote corner of the then Soviet Union. The sojourn is observantly recorded in all its curiousness and sudden emotional swerves, then Little is back in New York, saying goodbye to his friend. Both stories feel superimposed on actual experiences of the author's, so there is a gap between the authenticity of the detail and the wavering conviction of the narrative. At his best, Neider projects a powerfully quirky vision, and the tales are never less than absorbing, even if at times they feel unfinished. (Feb.)