All Kinds of Love

Reiner is nothing if not protean; from Your Show of Shows through dozens of films to this, his second novel (after Enter Laughing ) he has shown a delightfully wry sense of humor. All Kinds is an amusing attempt at pure farce, a difficult genre to sustain in any medium, particularly literature. Independent film producer Fred Cox and his wife, Sharon, are preparing for a trip to Japan by taking language lessons from the statuesque Hana Yoshi. Her methods are hands-on, to say the least, and in quick order she has seduced both her pupils. In the meantime, Kevin, their 16-year-old son, is getting ready to run off with one of the identical twin Salvadorean housemaids, whom he has inpregnated. Stir into this melange a private detective, an oversexed gynecologist and Fred's Jewish parents in Miami Beach. Everyone seems to be suffering from perpetual sexual hunger, including the octogenarian generation of Coxes, and much of the humor stems from the extremes the characters reach in their attempts to match love to lust. In addition, there are some cynical jokes at the expense of the Beverly hills lifestyle and film producers who buy properties they haven't read. Although the pace is fast and the humor broad, the book is more sweet-natured than you might expect, with everyone finding redemption and true love by the final pages. Author tour. (Apr.)