BEAUTIFUL BODIES

In Cunningham's lively and amusing first novel, six women who have been friends for two decades gather together on the snowiest night of the year. All are on the cusp of 40; none has quite attained the aspirations she shared with her friends at 20. The party takes place at the downtown loft of journalist Jessie Girard, who may or may not have just met her soul mate, Native American lawyer Jesse Dark, and the occasion is a baby shower for unwed bohemian musician Claire Molinaro. The irony clear to all the women (who include Sue Carol, a still-aspiring actress, Lisbeth, a spaced-out painter and Nina, an overweight spa owner) is that Claire may be the only one who will fulfill their dreams of motherhood. Suspense gets built around three small but effective questions: will Jesse call Jessie tonight, as he promised? Will manipulative, materialistic Martha leave early to meet her lover at an expensive restaurant? Will the storm of the century destroy everybody's plans? Though the novel lacks the verve and surprising pathos of Cunningham's fine memoirs, Sleeping Arrangements and A Place in the Country, the plot hums along spiritedly. Cunningham is overzealous, however, in detailing the possessions and tastes that indicate her protagonists' status, and her focus on describing numerous Manhattan neighborhoods contributes to the feeling of a book done by the numbers. On the plus side, the dialogue is witty and quintessentially feminine, the atmosphere changes as each character alters the group dynamics, and Cunningham's observant and funny social comedy carries the ring of truth. Agent, Molly Friedrich at Aaron Priest. 8-city author tour. (June)