Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 3, 1991                   TAG: 9103060013
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: D-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LEVIN'S `SLIVER' STRIPPED DOWN, STILL A THRILLER

For almost 40 years, Ira Levin has been writing polished, imaginative thrillers in several genres. "A Kiss Before Dying" is a strange sort of "pure" whodunnit; "Rosemary's Baby" may be the best supernatural novel of the century; "This Perfect Day" and "The Stepford Wives" are benchmark science fiction; "The Boys From Brazil" takes the international suspense story to levels that most practitioners of the form never dream of, much less achieve.

Now there's "Sliver."

In the long run, it may or may not be as influential as some of those titles, but it is completely engrossing fiction. This is a short novel that's been stripped of every unnecessary word; told with the technological sophistication, information-overload pace and erotic sensibility of a music video.

Kay Norris is an attractive 39-year-old woman with a willful cat and a satisfying career as a editor of Gothic novels at a large New York publishing house. When she finds a new apartment in a high-rise "sliver" building on Madison Avenue, her life seems to be perfect.

But . . . what about the unusually high number of deaths in the building? Can they be chalked up to accident, overdose and suicide? Who is the mysterious owner of the building, and why is he renting the apartments instead of selling them as co-ops?

The real secret of the building, though - and this is not giving anything away - is that someone is watching and listening to the tenants. Who is he and what are his intentions? That's the central mystery, and Levin spins out the tale with the sure touch of a master.

The characters and setting are drawn with quick, fine strokes. Levin clearly knows these people and places so well that he has eliminated almost all description, telling the story through dialogue and action. He has little use for adjectives; this is a story of nouns and verbs.

One-line paragraphs.

Incomplete sentences.

The technique could become studied or coy, but it's the right way to tell this story. The conclusion leaves itself open to criticism on a couple of points, but readers can decide that for themselves. Levin hooks you on the first page and doesn't let up.

"Sliver" is the kind of novel that you read in one long, hungry sitting. Find a copy and enjoy.