by Vincent Canby
In 1975 Canby, the New York Times' lead movie critic, published an unsatisfactory first novel called Living Quarters, about a crazy woman of wealth. It was as precious and tedious as this new work is rich and delightful. The oddball narrator, once again moneyed, is searching for some kind of equilibrium by rummaging around in his own disorderly past. All the characters are terrible people, worse than cheats—especially a monk who has a knack for producing fake antique documents. But at its best, the book has some of the flavor of John Cheever's Wapshot family tales, and Canby is darkly funny this time around. (Knopf, $8.95)
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