Hello Darling, Are You Working?

Rhys Waveral's life is not exactly at a high point when this sprightly and wickedly funny first novel opens. Following the cancellation of his highly successful American TV series, the young British actor (and former male hustler) retired to Paris to regroup. When the stock market crashes, leaving him penniless, he agrees to a paid assignation with a wealthy woman in order to raise cash to defray his mammoth hotel bill. To complicate matters further, his father (the Brigadier), his mother (Lady Dinah) and his frail, agoraphobic wife (Adrienne)--none of whom know more than a few details of his lifestyle--all descend upon him at once. The action flits from Paris to London to Tangier in a fast-paced farce that never stops. The author, himself an English actor, writes like a cross between Joe Keenan (to whose Blue Heaven the book bears more than a superficial likeness) and Gerald Durrell, depicting the British upper class and Parisian gay subculture with equal verve. Behind his humor lurk the grim realities of the late 1980s, with AIDS never far from the scene. Although he delivers a surprisingly downbeat denouement which would seem to preclude a sequel, a writer of Everett's obvious talent may very well find a way to have his marvelously daft set of characters make a repeat appearance. His well-written and hilarious book will certainly leave readers wanting more. (Sept.)