THE MAKING OF JUNE

Filmmaker and first-time novelist Ward transplants a shiny, young California couple to the grim, fledgling democratic Bulgarian capital of Sofia to scrutinize their wilting affections in this brave though somewhat spotty romantic saga. Through flashbacks and e-mail exchanges with friends in Los Angeles, the sad tale of 29-year-old film agent June Carver emerges: she has left her glamorous work to join Ethan, her husband of eight years, who is in Sofia to research a scholarly book on Bulgarian mores. June rashly confesses to a brief infidelity while Ethan was traveling, and he reacts by immediately taking up with Nevena, a 22-year-old Bulgarian maid he's had his eye on. June, who has never had to fend for herself, then falls for Chavdar, a suave, shady businessman (he doesn't carry a gun, but his five bodyguards do) who strong-arms her into an affair, then secures for her a new apartment and job through his mafia contacts. While Ethan and the impoverished, Muslim-born Nevena are traveling the bleak, dangerous countryside gathering research for his project and June is being lavishly feted and drugged by Chavdar, the country's economy collapses and the forces of democracy demand change. Through exemplary characters that represent the various factions, Ward offers a convincing if sometimes academic explanation of Balkan life in the late 1990s, though her core story is less satisfying. In the end, June and Ethan seem utterly ill-suited, especially after their respective unsavory choices in lovers, and their brash, plucky Americanism grates against the lusterless backdrop of Balkan severity. This novel offers a curious, original choice of setting for a love story, and Ward renders it with skill. Agent, Douglas Stewart. (May 13)