Reading and Writing

Novelist Davies, master of Massey College of the University of Toronto, delivered this volume's two essays in the Tanner Lectures series at Yale in 1991. In them he surprises, delights and educates with his views of literature's power to ``reveal marvelous things about life.'' His use of that power and his spirited wit entertain even as he decries readers satisfied by ``junk food for the mind'' and other kinds of bad writing. Making unexpected links--e.g., comparing Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities to St. Paul's principles--Davies argues convincingly that writing of genuine merit is rooted in lasting moral standards. This small volume's merit amply supports his argument. (Mar.)