LETOURNEAU’S USED AUTO PARTS<i> by Carolyn Chute (Ticknor & Fields: $16.95; 244 pp.) </i>

Hicks, yokels, rednecks, with streaks of monstrosity and three-day beards populate the decrepit hamlet of Egypt, Me., in “Letourneau’s Used Auto Parts.” A wise, moving and often funny book.--Richard Eder

THE INVENTION OF MEMORY A New View of the Brain by Israel Rosenfield (Basic Books: $18.95; 224 pp.) In Rosenfield’s view, the brain is not a static system, like a computer, but a dynamic one. Individual thoughts, memories and ideas are not stored in specific places but emerge in context.--Lee Dembart