Now I Know Everything

Postman's witty first novel is based on his own experience at Glamour magazine, where for four years he was the anonymous male voice behind the column ``Jake: A Man's View.'' As the novel opens, the narrator, who shares the author's name, is about to be named ``Vince,'' the sensitive yet virile masculine presence at a woman's magazine. The supposed anonymity of Vince notwithstanding, he finds that when he reveals his identity as ``the man behind the myth,'' he becomes instantly popular with women who want to help him gather ``material'' for his columns, though most of these encounters are, ironically, unconsummated. Andrew zigzags his way through the gossipy, cutthroat Manhattan publishing world and the myopic, pretentious social scene of his Ivy League graduate friends, making clever observations on gender politics but growing increasingly antagonistic toward his increasingly gutter-minded, cynical alter ego. When the author/character tries to delve beneath the surface, however,the prose falls flat. In a confused late night, lovelorn hike through Times Square, his deepest musings reveal only that ``[Madonna's] one lasting regret in life is that she will never be able to blow Jesus.'' For all the talk of sex in this work, it is devoid of any kind of sexiness or poetic intensity. However, Andrew's lack of understanding of his inner motivation, to which he readily admits, seems to be the point here. Vince, for all his hype and ``expertise,'' is just a regular guy, as are the similarly clueless, if interesting, members of his supporting cast of friends, editors and girlfriends. For all its flaws, this is a clever jaunt through the minefield of sexual politics, an easy and entertaining read. Movie rights to Castle Rock. Author tour. (Mar.)