A WOMAN'S BOOK OF GRIEVING

An elegant collection of prose-poems and verses characterized by an extreme compression of language—perhaps the only way to respect the failure of words to capture grief while insisting, nevertheless, on speaking. Rapoport rails at the deaths of family and friends; prays for a ``Good Death'' with a minimum of suffering; affirms the company of others, especially women, in sorrow. These pieces express a wide range of emotions that accompany loss. The spirit of the book is one of biblical lamentation, tempered at times by a grateful sense of the refuge to be found in grieving for loss—and celebrating life—with others. 12 lithographs. (Book-of-the-Month alternate selection)