AN EXPERIMENT IN LOVE

There's little love in this absorbing story of two English schoolgirls, Carmel and Karina, friends of necessity, but not of the heart. They escape from unsupportive working-class families, first to convent school and then to university in late-'60's London, where they edge toward self-destruction. As the girls' circle of friends widens, Walter's characterizations paint each woman distinctly, and she does her best with the underdeveloped male characters. Both author and narrator are superb at rendering descriptive detail, especially in the evocative, meandering early chapters. J.E.T. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT 96]