Edge of the Alphabet by Janet Frame This novel takes the form a manuscript found among the papers of the deceased Thora Pattern, its fictional author. Thora journeys through the lives of three characters, Toby, Pat, and Zoe, who meet on board a ship from New Zealand to England. Toby Withers is an epileptic from New Zealand who is writing a book about one of the lost tribes of New Zealand. Pat Keenan is a self-righteous Irishman who drives a London bus. Zoe Bryce is a former schoolteacher returning to England with defeated hopes. The three characters are linked only by a common isolation. At first they seem distressingly commonplace. And then, as Frame explores communication's failure to provide an escape from isolation, they become heartbreakingly real. PA, ISBN: 0807612707 $10.95 (Can: $16.50)