The Living One

This well-intentioned but vastly overdone first novel adds Big Brother to the cast of Dark Shadows , then throws in coming-out-of-the-closet angst. Rich kid Torrance Spoor is transplanted from California to coastal Massachusetts by his wacko father, Malcolm, who reveals to his son a centuries-old family curse. The adolescent becomes a virtual prisoner in his dad's mansion, outfitted with pool, vicious dogs, hidden cameras and the ever-attentive and creepy servant Pip. At school Torrance begins a relationship with Erik, a fellow swim team member, and copes with still more weirdness, including a writing instructor who teaches her students about ``reading with the body.'' Employing various voices and miming various media (letters, diary jottings, class assignments, tape recordings, memos, historical accounts), this novel sacrifices storytelling for special effects. Consequently, although surveillance, psychic research and family history are all worthy topics for fiction, Gannett's plot--especially the denouement--seems preposterous and his writing immature. He conveys a true appreciation for adolescent confusion and longing; if he concentrates on the less spectacular but more perplexing mysteries of human relationships, his powers may emerge at full strength. (Jan.)