obably　John　Irving　or　Salman　Rushdie　…　but　I　have　always　loved　stories　told　in　episodes。　It　is　a　format　I　first　encountered　in　The　Saturday　Evening　Post；　and　I　liked　it　because　the　end　of　each　episode　made　the　reader　an　almost　equal　participant　with　the　writer…you　had　a　whole　week　to　try　to　figure　out　the　next　twist　of　the　snake。　Also；　one　read　and　experienced　these　stories　more　intensely；　it　seemed　to　me；　because　they　were　rationed。　You　couldn't　gulp；　even　if　you　wanted　to　（and　if　the　story　was　good；　you　did）。

Best　of　all；　in　my　house　we　often　read　them　aloud…my　brother；　David；　one　night；　myself　the　next；　my　mother　taking　a　turn　on　the　third；　then　back　to　my　brother　again。　It　was　a　rare　chance　to　enjoy　a　written　work　as　we　enjoyed　the　movies　we　went　to　and　the　TV　programs　（Rawhide；　Bonanza。　Route　66）　that　we　watched　together；　they　were　a　family　event　。　It　wasn't　until　years　later　that　I　discovered　Dickens's　novels　had　been　enjoyed　by　families　of　his　day　in　much　the　same　fashion。　only　their　fireside　agonizings　over　the　fate　of　Pip　and　Oliver　and　David　Copperfield　went　on　for　years　instead　of　a　couple　of　months　（even　the　longest　of　the　Post　serials　rarely　ran　much　more　than　eight　installments）。

There　was　one　other　thing　that　I　liked　about　the　idea；　an　appeal　that　I　suspect　only　the　writer　of　suspense　tales　and　spooky　stories　can　fully　appreciate：　in　a　story　which　is　published　m　installments；　the　writer　gains　an　ascendancy　over　the　reader　which　he　or　she　cannot　otherwise　enjoy：　simply　put。　Constant　Reader；　you　cannot　flip　ahead　and　see　how　matters　turn　out。

I　still　remember　walking　into　our　living　room　once　when　I　was　twelve　or　so　and　seeing　my　mother　in　her　favorite　rocker；　peeking　at　the　end　of　an　Agatha　Christie　paperback　while　her　finger　held　her