IN A BIG UGLY HOUSE FAR FROM HERE. . . Magda Zalan. Victoria, Press Porcepic, c1982. Distributed by Beaverbooks. 87pp, paper, $6.95. ISBN 0-88878-206-3. Grades 4 and up. Reviewed by Sue Easun. Volume 11 Number 3. 1983 May. It is easy for those of us born and bred in this country to forget that our way of life is not-nor has it ever been-the universal status quo. While we may register that ugly houses do exist in faraway places, we are less likely to recognize that there are still many people that call them home. Magda Zalan is but one such person, who just happens to be blessed with a writer's gift. In a series of ten interlocking stories, Zalan describes her childhood memories of war-torn Budapest during the 1940s. She starts simply, with tales of pranks she played as a poor but carefree youngster, when high spirits and a fertile imagination were excuse enough for taunting an agitated shopkeeper. Yet as the bombs continue to drop and her homeland is ravished without mercy, young Magdi is made to learn many times over that a reality even uglier than her house is determined to destroy her innocence as well. Will this happen to our children, as cruise missiles head north for testing? Perhaps we had best begin looking about the neighbourhood. . . Highly recommended. Sue Easun, Toronto, ON.