GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS Katherine Govier. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, c1982. 252pp,cloth, $16.95. ISBN 0-7710-3416-4. Adult. Reviewed by Betty A. Befus. Volume 11 Number 3. 1983 May. Joan Sincere is a dancer, a stripper up on an assault charge. She kicked a drunk who, mouthing offensive remarks, clambered onto the stage; he invaded her space, not only the physical boundaries of her performance, but her spiritual space as well. So she struck out at the invader without missing a step of her routine. With effective balancing of past and present, Govier shades in the outlines of Joan's life. References to the simple, one-celled paramoecium "visible only under a microscope" but harbouring "complex instinct" run counterpoint to the introspection. Possibilities for comparison are illuminating. Characterization is alternately subtle and direct. Joan's world has sordid components, but she is a person of marked dignity with control, resilience, and guarded warmth. This is a provocative narrative, presenting as it does a picture of a complex individual one whom society would tag with a "simplistic" label and then dismiss. Joan does not dismiss easily. Betty A. Befus, Winnipeg, MB.