cover image In Three Minds

In Three Minds

Lara Marlow. Severn House Publishers, $19 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7278-1646-7

In her first novel, freelance journalist Marlowe tells her soap-opera tale in the voices of three narrators. Amelia Drummond, an American in England in the late '50s, is pregnant when her lover takes off for Spain. She goes to Paris to have the baby, and stays to pursue a career in fashion design, rising to unrivaled heights in the couture establishment. The second section of the book is narrated by Francesca Bellini, whose love for Amelia's son Edward is thwarted by his mother's possessiveness as well as by Edward's own ambivalence, which includes a homosexual tumble or two. Finally, Edward speaks for himself, echoing the twice-told litany of domineering mother, unknown father and the conflict between maternal and romantic love. The voices of all three, unfortunately, are undifferentiated, and fail to conjure up recognizable people who command sympathy and affection. Marlowe seems to have no more regard for them than she summons in the reader. (Oct.)