The Night Travellers

Spencer's (The Jack of Hearts ) fiction is always cause for celebration. This novel, a Greek tragedy in modern dress, concerns a generation of wasted lives--the Vietnam War protesters who went into hiding or exile and lost their youth and, sometimes, their future. In sure and luminous prose, Spencer follows Mary Kerr Harbison, born into a distinguished Southern family, who loses her adored father at a young age and is left in the steely grasp of her cold, abusive mother. A promising dancer, Mary gives up her career when she falls in love with Jefferson Blaise, a brilliant social activist finishing his doctoral dissertation with a liberal professor/mentor who encourages Jeff to speak out against the war. ``He is my destiny,'' Mary says of Jeff; what she does not know is that they will be star-crossed. They marry and have a daughter; become fugitives in Montreal; separate when Jeff is forced to go underground. Abandoned by the people Jeff has trusted to take care of her, Mary finds herself in an exorable downward spiral; she almost loses her life, and her child. For while Jeff acts out of conviction, Mary is the victim of love and of fate. Handled with subtlety and grace, the narrative becomes gripping as Mary's mother and stepfather intervene and cause the final tragedy. This is a story so credible it evokes a shock of recognition, so moving it will make your heart ache. (Aug.)