The Melodramatists

When the ``cotter pin or bit of wire'' that holds together Nicholas Boyne snaps, the wealthy Boston patriarch fancies himself ``the Pole Star of the North.'' When Boyne is removed to the funny farm, his daughters Claire and Susan are left behind to respectively begin processes of ``baptism and . . . damnation.'' Claire undergoes a mystical awakening; Susan engages her psychiatrist in an affair that degenerates into alcoholism and debauchery. Originally published in 1949, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Nemerov's (1920-1991) first novel traces the sisters' paths as they diverge and converge in Claire's scheme to turn the Boyne mansion into a center ``for the rehabilitation of . . . whores,'' though it rapidly becomes more like ``a training center.'' Nemerov clearly set out to satirize what ensues when seemingly serious people (Claire) engage in ridiculously pious pursuits and trivial people (Susan) confront truths. Yet he fails to make this scheme or its players matter, largely because of his style, which is almost slavishly derivative of James. With unbearable affectation, Nemerov ( The Homecoming Game ) and his characters yammer incessantly at the reader, and the effect is simply numbing. (Apr.)