The End of the Road

Culled from Bodett's syndicated radio show, these 28 interconnected stories are reminiscent of Garrison Keillor's tales from Lake Woebegon. Here, the setting is End of the Road, Alaska. In short sketches we meet Doug McDoogan, town liar, who is enriched when the art world creates an incomprehensible demand for his ``whittlin'.'' Bud Koening, on his 60th birthday, determines to write the poem about Alaska that he's been putting off for decades. Norman Tuttle, a 12-year-old experiencing his first crush, asks his dad about the facts of life; Tamara Dupree, ``vegetarian activist,'' feuds with a stray cat. Contests are held to see who can guess how soon snow will cover up a signpost, and Stormy Storbock and Ed Flannigan drive cross-country in a lime-green firetruck. While the collection is ``old-fashioned'' and ``homespun,'' it is also unoriginal, flatly written and predictable, and many of the tales are xenophobic and misogynistic. Bodett's blatant sentimentality is expressed with such gusto, however, that his efforts may well have commercial appeal. First serial to Redbook; Literary Guild featured alternate; author tour. (Oct.)