Autobiography of My Body

Freelance journalist Charles Bradford, the libidinous, divorced narrator of Guy's freewheeling psychosexual romp, seems like a Casanova--until we learn that he likes to be whipped while making love and that all he really wants is to be hugged by his mommy. There's more, as well, to other characters than meets the eye. Andrea, Charles's never-monogamous girlfriend who runs a feminist bookstore, is a shrill posturer (and self-deceiver)--but when the reader discovers that Andrea's father sexually abused her during childhood, she becomes more sympathetic. Other characters of note include Charles's boisterous father, ``the Senator,'' a Pittsburgh lawyer who at first seems a perfect example of the distant parent. When he enlists his son's help in a malpractice lawsuit, the two achieve a touching reconciliation. Charles's older sister Helen, a lesbian and a psychotherapist, is also effectively drawn. Unfortunately, the narrator's narcissistic ego overwhelms a story line freighted with psychobabble, endless introspection and obligatory sex scenes. (Feb.)