WILD AT HEART <i> by Barry Gifford (Vintage: $8.95) </i>

Barry Gifford’s slim novel follows the improbable odyssey of two misfits: Sailor Ripley, a dim ne’er-do-well, and Lula Pace Fortune, a small-town Southern girl who’s brighter than Sailor but not by much. Together they head west in Lula’s Bonneville, seeking “room to move,” even though it means Sailor must break parole and Lula must abandon her domineering mother. Not much happens to the pair, but Gifford’s exceptional ear for dialogue captures not only regional idioms but also inflections, including the flirtatious Southern mannerism of turning statements into questions.