FIRE AND ICE

I had hoped that by now Stegner would have grown beyond the vignette type of book, but once again his story does not quite add up to a full-bodied novel. Facile, written with a hard, young style, he succeeds in leaving sharp impressions, without quite rounding out his theme. This is the story of Paul Condon, working his way through a university, a truculent, embittered youth, who tries — and fails — to find a sublimation for his personal grievances in the Party. His grinding rage comes to the surface when the girl who is the symbol of all he wants and hates comes to interview him as a self-help student, for the college paper. He lets loose his venom, attempts rape. Later he is released from jail when charges are not pressed, and comes out a wiser man.