America's Children

In a notable New Yorker article three years ago, James Thackara was lauded as an unknown American genius. Last year, his supposedly unpublishable masterpiece, The Book of Kings, was published. Belatedly, American readers can now read his first novel, releasesd years ago in Britain, which reconstructs the rise and fall of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Thackara's Oppenheimer is a man who seems, unconsciously, to cast a spell on those about him: ""everyone loves him."" In the late '30s, he is teaching physics at Berkeley and demonstrating that he is one of the few American peers of the European physicists. Politically a leftist, he is surrounded by Communist Party activists and fellow travelers. However, when war comes, right-wing Col. Leslie Groves, the military head of the atom bomb project, makes Oppenheimer its head scientist. The best part of the novel links the ""tremendous vistas"" of the New Mexican landscape with the drama of making the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The cracks in Oppenheimer's image are even then appearing, as he is secretly investigated as a security risk. The last third of the book portrays his long, torturous descent into the public humiliation of being denied security clearance by the Atom Commission. Thackara's Oppenheimer is ultimately a flawed hero, confusing his good intentions with real goodness--much like the country on behalf of which he built the bomb. Lyrical--at times breathlessly so--and grandiloquent, Thackara's first effort is redeemed by its genuine sincerity and passion. (Mar. 15) Forecast: The failure of The Book of Kings to live up to its hype means this book will mostly be received as a curiosity, and likely will achieve only modest sales.