Apologize, Apologize!

Collie Flanagan’s life is part Grey Gardens and part The Royal Tenenbaums in this beautifully written if unwieldy dramedy debut. Raised on Martha’s Vineyard, Collie is the dull link in his flamboyant family: his adulterous, alcoholic father and cruelly pugnacious mother maintain a miserable relationship that overshadows even the overblown personalities of his pigeon-racing uncle and his prep-school failure brother. As storms of irresponsibility rage, Collie lives in quiet, stable success until a one-two punch of family tragedy leaves him reeling. Collie’s relationship with his media magnate grandfather becomes contentious as Collie spins out of control and tries wildly different ways to make restitution and become a man. Kelly is a gifted writer (Collie’s mother attacks with a “verbal pitchfork. Before the night was over, just about everyone in the place had sprung leaks, blood and champagne spurting from all those glamorous human fountains”), but her chops as a novelist aren’t as refined: Collie is as pallid as the other characters are unbelievable, and though the crazed drama keeps the story moving, it’s often incredible. Though hampered by these weaknesses, Collie’s quest is worth reading for the elegant prose alone. (Mar.)