River Time: The Frontier on the Lower Neuse

A road map of North Carolina shows the Neuse River flowing into the southern end of Pamlico Sound. Lambke and her husband ``Chief'' live on the shore of this tidal estuary, at a point where it is five miles wide. Theirs is a geographically isolated rural community, 12 twisty miles on a narrow road from the nearest highway (and a mom-and-pop grocery store), 20 miles from New Bern. Residents have all the appurtenances of modern living, but the ambience is last-century frontier. Lambke's utterly charming portrait of life on the river introduces us to neighbors, permanent and weekenders, and takes us on bird walks and fishing expeditions. The gentle rhythm of life on the river is broken only by major storms (the Lembkes stayed with neighbors inland during Hurricane Gloria). The author, a teacher and translator of Greek and Roman classics, tells how she found herself in this backwater, courtesy of a middle-age romance, reminiscent of Edith Iglauer's Fishing with John . Lamkbe promises and delivers a sense of serenity and contentment. (June)