Three Lives

Each of the three stories--"The Epicurean," "The Realist," and "The Stoic"--in this collection introduces the richly satisfying and morally intriguing situations for which the author is known. 12,500 first printing.From Publishers WeeklyThe lives of three New York WASPs come under the scrutiny of Auchincloss's ( False Gods ) meticulous eye and deep moral vision. He examines them in his usual accomplished--if somewhat chilly--prose, laced with French phrases, references to the Great Books and acerbic, sometimes precious dialogue. Two novellas are narrated by their male protagonists, and as their titles--"The Epicurean" and "The Stoic"--indicate, they illuminate extreme approaches to life. The man of leisure at the heart of "The Epicurean" uses his family money to cushion his escapades as an artistic dilettante in Paris and a game hunter in Africa. When WW II brings an abrupt end to this pattern, the denouement seems coy rather than ordained. Related by a woman, the middle tale, a miniature novel of manners called "The Realist," has a more moderate outlook. Its story-within-a-story structure is contrived and proves frustrating. The most polished entry is the final tale, set in the early part of the 20th century, Auchincloss's favorite setting. "The Stoic" inhabits the world of finance, arranged intimacies and measured obligations to society. Harshly judgmental, he lives by his own rigid set of rules and resentments and is happy only when his hatred bears fruit. Reading about this rarefied milieu may make readers glad that they do not inhabit it. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThe writer of these stories, a former lawyer and prolific author of fiction and nonfiction, again uses his knowledge of law and upper-class New York society to present in his inimitably elegant style three sympathetic characters. Wealthy Nat Chisolm, whose remorseless grasping after pleasure illustrates the tale "The Epicurean," eventually finds life emotionally unsatisfying; Alida Vermeule, "The Realist," uses her restricted station in life to shape her husband's career; and George Manville, "The Stoic," shields himself from human contact by wrapping himself in the ascetic certainties of commerce. Challenged intellectually and morally by their dilemmas, and shaped by the demands of their society, Auchincloss's protagonists wrangle with their destiny. Recommended for public libraries.- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.