A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

rs , and she does black dialect well . Yet , despite admiration for Darnell 's d

ogged persistence and pleasure when he overcomes his poor prospects , something 

is missing . The cleansing fire - in the hills , in the marriage , in the street

s - never quite flares . This is a story of the rewards of control , but some re

aders may feel almost cheated that a fiery release , hinted at throughout the bo

ok , never comes .

 Is cruising getting more like flying when it comes to passenger incentives ? Mo

st cruise lines reward their frequent passengers with perks like special discoun

ts and private parties , but Cunard is about to launch a plan that sounds like a

 seagoing version of the airline frequent-flier programs . Passengers who sail o

n any of 10 Cunard ships will earn Cruise Miles that can be redeemed for awards 

ranging from upgrades to free voyages . Cruise Miles will be awarded on a per-pe

rson , per-day basis according to ship , grades of accommodation and length of t

rip . Thus , the higher your cabin category and the longer the cruise , the more

 points you 'll earn . How fast will Cruise Miles add up ? On a five-star ship s

uch as the Queen Elizabeth 2 , Columbia-class passengers ( the lower first class

 tier ) will earn 200 miles a day . On Cunard Crown vessels ( which are less for

mal than the QE2 , Sea Goddesses and other top-of-the-line ships ) , you 'll ear

n 50 Cruise Miles a day in a mid-priced inside cabin , 100 a day in a mid-priced

 outside cabin , 150 a day in a deluxe stateroom thus 250 , 700 or 1,050 Cruise 

Miles for a seven-day voyage . Once you 've accumulated 600 Cruise Miles you can

 redeem them for a one-category upgrade on a seven-day trip on a Cunard Crown sh

ip . It 'll take 5,000 Cruise Miles to get a free seven-day sailing on a Crown v

essel which you can earn by taking just one 11-day voyage on one of the deluxe S

ea Goddesses . However , if your style and pocketbook allow only an annual one-w

eek cruise in the budget category , you 're never going to earn a freebie within

 the seven-year limit Cunard has set . Seabourn Cruise Line has offered a somewh

at similar incentive plan for its frequent sailors since 1988 . Passengers who '

ve made one voyage automatically become members of the line 's Seabourn Club , w

hich offers fare reductions for accumulated days at sea . For example , after 28

 days of sailing typically two Seabourn cruises you 'll get a 25 percent savings

 on your next 14-day trip ; after 70 days , you 'll get a 50 percent reduction o

n your next 14-day journey ; after 140 days , you qualify for a free 14-day crui

se . Seabourn 's all-suites ships offer luxury voyages ( the average per-person 

tariff is $ 830 a day ) , but lots of passengers have nevertheless qualified for

 freebies , according to spokesman Ernie Beyl . Seabourn also has a pay-in-full 

prepurchase program called World Fare , which offers substantial savings to trav

elers who buy 45 , 60 , 90 or 120 days at sea up to three years in advance . Via

 World Fare , you can reduce the average daily cost to about $ 500-plus , Beyl s

aid . Royal Viking , which claims a 66 percent repeat rate on its cruises , give

s gifts of merchandise after a certain number of sailings . Members of its past-

passengers Skald Club ( named for the well-traveled Viking historians who made c

ontinual voyages and always returned home with intriguing tales ) also get an ex

tra 5 percent reduction on top of the standard 15-percent early booking discount

 . And several annual Royal Viking `` reunion cruises '' offer a variety of perk

s for Skald Club members . Other lines said they 're taking a new look at their 

incentive programs . Meanwhile , Radisson is offering a $ 1,000-per-person disco

unt to Radisson Hotel guests who book a seven- or eight-night Radisson Diamond M

editerranean cruise within 30 days of check-in . The promotion also includes an 

additional $ 250-per-person shipboard credit that can be used toward shore excur

sions , drinks , boutique purchases and beauty and spa services . Radisson says 

the discount reflects savings of nearly 25 percent off the full fare , which nor

mally totals $ 4,295 for a seven-night voyage , $ 4,895 for eight-night voyages 

. The deal is available to Radisson Hotel guests until July 31 for sailings betw

een June 10 and Nov. 5 .

 ( ndy ) ( ATTN : Travel editors ) TRAVEL PLANNER : Packages to Finland Range fr

om Cities to Tundras By Marc Cottone ( c ) 1994 , Newsday The Finnish Tourist Bo

ard is offering more than 40 package tours for travelers in Finland this year th

at cover everything from coastal cities to the tundra of the Arctic Circle . The

 `` Midnight Sun Flight , '' for example , takes tour members from Helsinki to R

ovaniemi , capital of Lapland , for a day of ' round-the-clock sunlight . Take i

n the native Lapp culture with a reindeer lasso-throwing contest , cross the Arc

tic Circle and later enjoy a traditional Lapp dinner . The one-day/one-night pac

kage , available June 1-July 31 , is $ 336 per person , double occupancy , and i

ncludes round-trip airfare from Helsinki and accommodations . Or try the `` Torn

ionjoki River Adventure '' that offers two exciting trips near the Arctic Circle

 that include white-water rafting , fishing , a visit to a Lapp lumberjack mill 

even a visit to Santa Claus at his Arctic Circle workshop . Starting at $ 290 pe

r person , double occupancy , fo r the river raft , the tour includes roundtrip 

air from Helinski , accommodations and meals . Package trips are available for c

oastal cities tours and rural farmhouse sojourns . There 's even a tour to Tanka

vaara , home of the Goldpanning World Championships . Call your travel agent or 

Finnway at ( 800 ) 526-4927 . -0- VOLUNTEER VACATIONS : Here 's something differ

ent : a tax-deductible vacation for you or your family . Global Citizen 's Netwo

rk , a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote understanding between cultur

es through hands-on volunteer projects , has several volunteer slots open this s

ummer on two- and three-week teams headed for Kenya , Guatemala and Belize . You

 don't need foreign language ability only a willingness to experience and accept

 new cultures and the trips are open to all ages and skills . Trip-related expen

ses , including airfare , food and lodging are tax-deductible , according to the

 group . Programs range from $ 990- $ 1,300 , plus air fare . A number of partia

l scholarships are available . For more information , call ( 800 ) 644-9292 . -0

- MARTINIQUE MUSTS : Two new trips are available on direct flights from New York

 to Fort-de-France in Martinque this summer for just $ 969- $ 1,250 per person ,

 double occupancy , depending on choice of hotels . The `` Fly/Drive Explorer ''

 package includes airfare , seven-nights ' accommodations , daily breakfasts and

 a car for five days with unlimited mileage and maps with suggested itineraries 

. A golfer 's package includes the same basic items plus greens fees for a week 

at the 18-hole Empress Josephine Country Club , designed by Robert Trent Jones S

r. , where the fairways roll right down to the town 's colorful waterfront . Cal

l ( 800 ) 765-6065 . -0- A RECIPE FOR FUN : Spend a holiday immersed in culinary

 philosophy and gastronomic delights on a five-day `` Going Solo in the Kitchen 

'' vacation through Regatta Travel . Under the direction of Jane Doerfer , noted

 cooking teacher and author , participants will learn the techniques of cooking 

for one in a modern school that operates out of a 19th-Century plantation house 

in Apalachicola , Fla. . Students prepare quick meals such as swordfish in sweet

-sour tomato sauce and butterfly chicken with sweet potatoes and onions , all wi

th an eye on healthful and non-wasteful recipes . During afternoons off , studen

ts can walk or swim at nearby St. Georges Island Beach or fish for a bass that m

ight wind up on the dinner platter . Classes are limited to 12 . Four sessions a

re held through December , the first from June 12-17 . Price is $ 875 per person

 ; air fare is extra . Call ( 800 ) 445-7685 . -0- COUNTRY FOOTPATHS : BCT Sceni

c Walking tours offers eight-day British holiday strolls this summer and fall al

ong the remote southern and northern shores of the Cornwall Peninsula . With dai

ly walks of just six to eight miles , travelers have plenty of time to soak in h

istory along the escarpments of the northern coast , where pirates once lured sh

ips aground to plunder their cargoes , or follow streams along the southern shor

e in Daphne du Maurier country . Tour members will visit St. Michaels ' Mount , 

a monastery accessible only at low tide by a tidal causeway , and explore old se

aside footpaths on the remote Lizard Peninsula . Accommodations are at first-cla

ss inns for two to three nights at each location , where breakfasts and gourmet 

dinners are included . Price is $ 1,795 per person ; departures begin June 18 . 

Call your travel agent or ( 800 ) 473-1210 for a brochure . Most packages can be

 booked through travel agencies .

 Moviegoers love films based on John Grisham novels . Two of his books `` The Fi

rm '' and `` The Pelican Brief '' became box-office hits thanks to Grisham 's ac

tion-packed plots , and `` The Client , '' starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee

 Jones , hits theaters in July . So it 's no surprise that Grisham 's latest wor

k , another legal thriller called `` The Chamber , '' is Hollywood-bound as well

 . Producer Ron Howard acquired the rights while the book was still being writte

n . Set mostly in Mississippi , `` The Chamber '' chronicles the desperate effor

ts of Adam Hall , a young Chicago lawyer , to block the gas-chamber execution of

 his grandfather , 70-year-old Sam Cayhall . Cayhall , a lifelong member of the 

Ku Klux Klan , was convicted of a 1967 bombing that maimed a Jewish civil rights

 lawyer and killed his two children . Cayhall has only four weeks left to live u

nless grandson Hall , who hates the death penalty as much as he does Cayhall 's 

crimes , can devise a successful appeal . The tempo builds as the execution date

 approaches . Besides exploring death-penalty issues , Grisham uses `` The Chamb

er '' to discuss the social conditions that existed during the height of civil r

ights tensions in the South . He pulls no punches on the bigotry and hate that m

arked that era . This aspect of the tale is recounted through flashbacks and the

 memories of the family members , law-enforcement agents , and victims that Hall

 encounters in his bid to save his grandfather 's life . In the process , Hall ,

 whose own father had fled the violence but could not escape it , learns about t

he Cayhall family 's role in the hatred and bloodshed . The death penalty and th

e civil rights struggle are potential gold mines for a novelist . Too bad Grisha

m fumbles the opportunity to make `` The Chamber '' something more than summer a

dventure reading . Despite its strong plot line , the book is marred by a variet

y of weaknesses , including contrived dialogue , cliched characters and dead-end

 subplots . Conversations about the death penalty often turn into two people lec

turing each other . Government officials supporting the death penalty are portra

yed as either cold functionaries or cynical opportunists . All reporters are ign

orant vultures interested solely in sensationalism . Worse , the plot often seem

s downright deceptive . At least two significant characters set up for key roles

 in the novel 's climax turn out to be irrelevant to the outcome . So pages of f

oreshadowing are revealed as having been used to dupe the reader . There 's also

 a strange lack of realism in the novel 's descriptions . Grisham , a Mississipp

i resident , obviously has gone to great pains to study life in prison , on deat

h row in particular . But when characters move to the Mississippi countryside , 

they seem lost in a generalized Southern landscape , not rooted in a distinct se

tting . None of this , however , is likely to hamper the book 's chances of beco

ming a successful and entertaining movie . Two-hour adventure movies are slavish

ly devoted to plot and have little time left for subtleties or character develop

ment . Those who have enjoyed Grisham 's earlier works , which include `` A Time

 To Kill , '' should have no qualms about diving into `` The Chamber . '' It 's 

good for a beach or an airplane or a backyard deck chair . But those new to Gris

ham might want to preview his earlier work at the library before investing $ 25 

in a new hardcover . That , or wait for the movie .

 When it comes to putting a wacky spin on a familiar story , Kevin O' Malley is 

one of the best . O' Malley made a splash with `` Froggy Went A-Courtin ' , ' ' 

followed by `` Who Killed Cock Robin ? '' He flew solo on those two books , as w

ell as `` Bruno , You 're Late for School ! '' and `` The Box . '' But he has go

ne from author/illustrator to illustrator in his latest , `` Cinder Edna , '' wr

itten by Ellen Jackson ( Lothrop , Lee & Shepard , $ 15 , 32 pp. , ages 4 and up

 ) . The story leaves O' Malley plenty of room to have fun with the illustration

s . The jokes he slips in are the funniest parts of the book , which would be fu

nnier if it wasn't hammering home a message . Not that the moral is a bad one . 

Cinder Edna happens to live next door to Cinderella . Both have a cruel stepmoth

er and wicked stepsisters . When Cinderella has done all the work around the hou

se , she sits in the cinders , thinking about her troubles . When Cinder Edna is

 done slaving for her stepmother and stepsisters , she mows lawns and cleans par

rot cages for neighbors , at $ 1.50 an hour . Cinderella is beautiful . The indu

strious Cinder Edna `` wasn't much to look at . But she was strong and spunky an

d knew some good jokes including an especially funny one about an anteater from 

Afghanistan . '' Cinderella gets to go to the ball courtesy of her fairy godmoth

er . Cinder Edna has saved up her money to put a dress on layaway . While Cinder

ella rides in her pumpkin coach , Cinder Edna takes the bus to the ball . Empty-

headed Cinderella falls for the vain prince . Cinder Edna hits it off with the p

rince 's younger brother , a dorky sort who lives in a solar-heated cottage and 

runs the recycling plant . Both couples end up getting married , and there 's no

 doubt about who lives happily ever after . A take-off on traditional fairy tale

s lets readers take off on a wild trip in `` Come Back , Jack ! '' by Catherine 

and Laurence Anholt ( Candlewick Press , $ 12.95 , 32 pp. , ages 3 and up ) . On

e day a little girl who doesn't like books is playing outside with her little br

other , Jack , who loves books . Next thing she knows , Jack is climbing into on

e of his books , and she has to scramble to crawl in after him . Once inside the

 book , she runs down a hill to find a little girl named Jill , a spilled bucket

 beside her . `` Jack fell down and now he 's run away , '' Jill says . Jack 's 

sister rushes to find him . She gets to the house that Jack built , only to find

 that he has already left . He was last seen jumping over a candlestick . Finall

y , the trail leads her to the giant 's castle , where she finds Jack sitting in

 a corner , eating a Christmas pie . They barely escape down the beanstalk in ti

me . Once they 're safe , back at home in the garden , she says , `` Well , perh

aps books aren't boring after all ! '' The endpapers include the nursery rhymes 

referred to during the children 's romp through the pages . A sequel to Humpty D

umpty ? No , it 's not filled with omelet recipes . `` Little Lumpty , '' by Mik

o Imai ( Candlewick , $ 12.95 , 32 pp. , ages 4 and up ) , is an original story 

about a little egg growing up in the town of Dumpty , where young eggs play by t

he wall that Humpty Dumpty fell from long , long ago . Lumpty dreams of climbing

 the wall , even though he knows it 's forbidden . Finally , he gets his courage

 up , finds a ladder and makes it to the top . He is thrilled until he looks dow

n and his legs shake and he can't make it back down the ladder . He knows he 'll

 be in trouble when his mother finds out what he has done . He remembers Humpty 

Dumpty 's great fall and starts crying . Finally , he gets his courage up and ye

lls for help . All the eggs in town rush out , and he is rescued . He tells his 

mom he 's sorry , and she hugs him . Any kid who has broken the rules , thrilled

 in the adventure of it all and then found herself in big trouble will identify 

with Lumpty . The best part is that there 's no grown-up moral at the end . Lump

ty , who dared to chase his dream , is safe in his bed . `` But I still love tha

t wall , '' he whispered to the moon just before he fell asleep .

 Possibly enough has been said about Barney , but has anything been said about t

hose who are not Barney ? My son Joey and I were at a festival last weekend wher

e we encountered not Barney but `` a purple dinosaur . '' He was roughly the siz

e of Barney . He was roughly the color of Barney , although I would have pegged 

him somewhere between plum and aubergine , whereas Barney has this thing happeni

ng where he modulates between soft true fuchsia and almost a zinfandel . Sometim

es I think it 's a shame I don't ever get to give the police any descriptions . 

Also , Barney apparently has access to some moth-proofing that is not widely ava

ilable . We looked at not-Barney . He did tell us he loved us . He did not tell 

us we loved him . He did not offer any explanation for himself . Neruda 's , `` 

It so happens I 'm tired of being just a man , '' would have been nice . Joey is

 4 and doesn't like Barney , because Barney is not engaged in the important work

 of this life , which is pounding really hard for 22 minutes a clip on radioacti

ve Japanese armadillos , as per `` Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , '' a show that

 takes the old saw about there being only seven basic plots in all storytelling 

and divides it by seven . But even though he disdains Barney as the sort of appe

aser who would hand the Sudetenland over to the isotope-leaching weaselcobras wi

thout so much as a kick-punch , Joey determined that he was in the presence of s

omebody famous , and , just the way you or I might not immediately turn our back

s on , say , Marge Schott or John McLaughlin , he hung with the Barney-tribute-a

ct until it was clear that there was not going to be a glow of any kind . Plus i

t was one of those deals where they want about $ 4.50 for a Polaroid of you and 

( in this case ) somebody who wasn't really in a position to claim to be the ent

ity he was impersonating . It would have been like paying a lot of money to see 

Demi Moore as Ophelia . I did wonder : Can this be legal ? No way can the Barney

 people sew up the whole idea of being a purple dinosaur , but how close to Barn

eyness can you get before you cross some kind of line ? The Newfoundland muzzle 

, the Norville eyes .. . these must be worth a call to Mackenzie & Brackman . Th

ere are already lawsuits flying around about the Barney song . In a couple of ye

ars , Barney will be an entire semester at most law schools . Meanwhile , almost

 gratifyingly , another Barney is back . `` The Flintstones '' movie opened last

 weekend . It made me think about the original Flintstones and how Barney Rubble

 is the defining symbol of why they weren't any good . Because , unlike Ed Norto

n in `` The Honeymooners , '' Barney is not connected to an alternate reality . 

Ed 's sewer-nourished transcendentalism is kind of the escape window from all th

ose peevish Kramden realities . But Barney is just kind of there . Like Barney .

 And not-Barney . And then I thought : If I have time to think about this , I ne

ed a night job . Now I come to find out that head-spinningly David Geffen has op

tioned the rights to make a Barney ( the dinosaur ) movie . Well , he might have

 actually been righter than Redford for `` Out of Africa , '' but what exactly i

s Barney ( not to mention those insufferable children ) supposed to do for 90 mi

nutes ? Maybe a `` Stardust Memories '' thing . Maybe Barney doesn't want to be 

instructively affirming ( or whatever ) anymore , but his fans willn't let go . 

His head is in a different place . He 's got chick problems . ( `` Four Weddings

 and a Reptile . '' ) Maybe then , Barney finishes alone , on a hilltop in L.A. 

, like Beatty at the end of `` Shampoo . '' And , wait , maybe he is reciting Ne

ruda : `` For a long while I 've pondered them now these big legs of mine : with

 infinite tenderness , curious , with my usual passion as if they belonged to a 

stranger ... '' Maybe I need some rest .

 This summer , Elizabeth Marshall Thomas takes on cats , Bob Woodward takes on B

ill Clinton , and those lovebirds Mary Matalin and James Carville take on each o

ther . A slew of D-Day books are the other major highlight of this season 's new

 nonfiction . ( Please note that some books may be in stores the month before th

eir official publication date . ) BIOGRAPHY , MEMOIRS : `` All 's Fair : Love , 

War and Running for President '' by Mary Matalin and James Carville with Peter K

nobler ( Random House , August ) is a joint memoir by the now-married political 

rivals who were on opposite sides of the campaign fence during the 1992 presiden

tial election . The country music legend is the subject of `` Patsy : The Life a

nd Times of Patsy Cline '' by Margaret Jones ( HarperCollins , June ) . `` Boule

vard of Broken Dreams : The Life , Times and Legend of James Dean '' by Paul Ale

xander ( Viking , July ) is described as the first `` sexual biography '' of the

 actor . In `` A Woman 's Life : The Story of an Ordinary American and Her Extra

ordinary Generation '' ( William Morrow , June ) , Susan Cheever traces the baby

-boom generation through the prism of one woman a 45-year-old suburban Boston mo

ther of two named Linda Green . `` Loving Garbo : The Story of Greta Garbo , Cec

il Beaton and Mercedes de Acosta '' by Hugo Vickers ( Random House , June ) exam