LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley...

LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson (Academy Chicago Publishers: $8.95; 241 pp.). Originally issued in 1953, Shirley Jackson’s journal recounts how she and her family abandoned Manhattan for life in rural Vermont. Jackson concentrates on the trivia of daily life in postwar America: making pudding, keeping lists, collecting coins, raising children. Many writers--notably Erma Bombeck--have worked this turf during the intervening decades, but none have matched Jackson’s deft touch. She never whines or portrays herself or her husband as idiots, but finds humor in everyday situations.