TABLE OF EVERYTHING

Australian writer White's collection of prose poems and short stories features 17 narrators with different interests, occupations and preoccupations. Their voices, nearly indistinguishable, express a scientific approach to living, a poetic sensibility and a strong philosophical bent. The author carries to an almost absurd extreme the narrators' musings and actions. Most of the selections begin with the implied question, "What if?" What if street sounds were recorded as a concerto, wishes grew into paper mountains in the back yard, or cats could speak poetry? Answers are rarely clear cut, but the process of imagining the results provide whimsical comedy. For instance, the woman in "Method of Living" wonders if it is more effective to work in a chaotic or organized environment. Starting her days "with a perfect arrangement" makes her feel like "a snake inside a bamboo pole," but the disorganized method has "even more dispiriting results." In "Very Slow Train," the characters' goal is to build a train "the exact opposite of the one that ran between Melbourne and Sydney." After purchasing an antique wooden train and laboring many hours renovating its cars, the designers believe that they will please the fancy of every imaginable passenger. The only problem: the train can only travel at a snail's pace. Traditionalists may balk at the author's open endings and sketchy characterizations, but those who favor the journey over reaching a destination will be carried far by this book's meditations. Ages 13-up. (Dec.)