Atomic Candy

Burke's first novel, like the atomic candy of its title, pops and fizzes, but overdoses on confection. Pregnant Kate Albion, a Boston Democratic ward worker whose motto is ``you can never be too thin or too ruthless,'' gets so riled by Nixon's ``Checkers'' speech that she goes into labor, giving birth to a daughter her husband names Marilyn after his idol. Marilyn Albion, like the rest of her generation, grows up to amid the turbulence of media events--the Kennedy assassinations, the Vietnam War and feminist protests. Breezy, jazzy, joke-packed, this novel, which opens a window on blue-collar Boston Irish, could have been a delight--but, padded with repetition and cliche, (what were you doing the day John Kennedy was killed?) trivializes recent history and human experience. (Apr.)