A House in the Hamptons

This immensely entertaining fifth novel from the author of Radio Blues is as much an astute sociological study of yuppies in late-'80s New York as it is amusing, hip, highly readable fiction. Publisher Harry Hart and psychiatrist Donnie Jamieson, best friends with second houses in the Hamptons, loved the same Marilyn Monroe look-alike back in high school. When she moves to Easthampton 25 years later, disrupting their summer routine, wacky inconveniences give way to family catastrophes, and the men, their wives and their loved ones--most of whom could have stepped out of TV's thirty some thing --must confront the fear and angst lurking beneath their cool exteriors. Keen observation and psychological insight empower Nagy's lively portrayals of everyone from the lowbrow masseuse to the teenage au pair to the status-conscious millionaires for whom Ferraris, Ralph Lauren, psychotherapy and sun-dried tomatoes are the stuff of life. Nagy alternates narrators, allowing the reader to sympathize with even the obnoxious personalities, who, ultimately shedding their masks, become surprisingly likable and all too human. (July)