Deep Dream of the Rain Forest

Deep in the rain forests of Borneo lives Bayang, son of the headman of a tribe of Iban. The Iban, writes Bosse ( Captives of Time ; The 79 Squares ), ``often found the meaning of their lives in the world of dreams,'' and so Bayang receives the blessing of his elders when a powerful dream prompts him to set off through the dangerous jungle, accompanied only by the lame girl Tambong. Their path crosses that of 15-year-old Harry Windsor, an English boy orphaned by WW I and now in the care of his uncle, a senior officer for the Sarawak Protectorate. The three learn to help and trust one another in their desperate trek, eluding native war parties and foreign river-pirates. Bosse expertly weaves together his narrative from the points of view of each of the protagonists, showing as much perception in imagining the Iban mind as in that of a young English colonial. His gripping adventure story withstands comparison to Kidnapped , Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe , and is far subtler than each of them. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)