Illuminations of Alice Mallory

In this well-crafted first novel, Alice Mallory is a North Vancouver Woolworth's employee with a vague idea that life holds greater possibilities. She has a strained relationship with her mother, Beryl, who she sees as ``a bitter queen.'' Beryl also has a son, David, whose father, Mr. Goldman, is a mild-mannered laundromat owner who has never introduced Beryl to his family because she isn't Jewish. Alice cringes from Beryl's strange behavior, which includes parading through the living room in a bathing suit for her daughter's boyfriend. When Alice attempts to enroll in a typing course and finds it full, she opts instead for a literature course and becomes enamored of the young teacher, James, who shares her love for D. H. Lawrence. He thrills her by, among other things, pronouncing Woolworth's ``a monument to death.'' When Beryl discovers that Alice has spent the night with James, she kicks her out of the house and Alice moves in with her lover. He and his academic friends are enchanted with her gritty existence, but eventually she begins to feel like a mere curiosity. Moore finds humor in unrelentingly gray situations and manages to create an upbeat ending for poor Alice. (Feb.)