The Correspondence

This stylish, literate exploration of unrequited love ultimately disappoints when it becomes clear that the characters and the story are going nowhere. Sullivan ( The Dead Magician ) begins well, spinning a convoluted tale in witty, elegant prose rich with echoes of 18th-century English literature. Avant-garde Greenwich Village novelist George Fowler burns with homoerotic passion for his married best friend, famous actor Alex Merry, who is sleeping with his own nymphet stepdaughter Paloma, who is also the incestuous lover of her bisexual twin brother Dirk, who in turn has yearned for George since he was nine. Interwoven with George's account of these baroque events is his 21-year correspondence with Alex, in which each adopts a fictitious alter-ego: George is Pierre Avast, a reclusive French-American poet; Alex pretends to be Harry Adams, a Boston accountant prone to picaresque adventures. The marvelous letters, full of private jokes and foreshadowings, combine with the busy plot to provide enjoyable entertainment for about 100 pages before the narrative runs out of steam. Although the author adroitly unmasks her characters' self-deceptions, her relentless focus on their personal problems makes reading this novel a bit like standing in an endless hall of mirrors, looking at myriad reflections of people you don't much like. ( May )