The Year Roger Wasn't Well

This parody of an on-again, off-again marriage subsists for a while on its breezy prose style. But a repetitious plot twist--lovers meet; he has doubts and leaves; he can't live without her and returns, only to begin the whole process again--becomes monotonous. Lizzie Reade, first encountered in Men in Trouble , is the female half of the duo . An upscale Harvard grad who still lives in Boston, Lizzie is aimlessly pursuing a career while actively seeking a husband. Along comes Roger Stoner, a stereotypical jock and ladies' man who fears commitment yet astonishes himself by falling for Lizzie. After a period of frantic partygoing (``when she thought back on it, she suspected the secret to their stunning courtship was that they'd been drunk the entire time''), the two are disastrously hitched; they separate forthwith, and the he-loves-her, he-loves-her-not cycle commences. While Roger constantly questions the depth of his love for Lizzie, and both partners halfheartedly cheat on each other, there's rarely any question that Lizzie loves Roger. She's always relieved to have him back and is in fact lost without a mate. Lizzie is the type of weak female who won't appeal to feminists. Still, some may warm to her, especially when her contretemps on her various jobs invest the book with humorous moments. (May)