Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 10, 1993 TAG: 9311170236
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by MARY ANN JOHNSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Alice Adams' novels and stories are quiet studies of characters and relationships.
In her earlier books (``Superior Women,'' ``Caroline's Daughters'') she concentrated on ties between women; later (``Rich Rewards'') her women develop satisfying relationships with men; ``Almost Perfect'' embraces friendships among women, affairs between men and women, and even male homosexual unions. The women are still superior, but she expresses some compassion for the foibles of the male sex and a renewed acknowledgment of the older generation's changing needs for sex and commitment.
Daughter of Roanoker Agatha Boyd Adams, Alice Adams makes her home in San Francisco and uses it as her primary setting. Her descriptions are specific to the point that the city itself takes on a character role.
Stella Blake is a journalist in San Francisco, and the novel opens with her rushing to an interview where, ironically, she is the subject. Another writer, Simon Daniels, is gathering information about Stella's father, a curmudgeonly old Communist in Greenwich Village who was part of the intellectual elite of the '30s. Early in the interview, the attractive Simon announces his homosexuality, and this incident serves as counterpoint to the instant physical attraction Stella feels during her subsequent interview with handsome successful advertising artist Richard Fallon.
A roller-coaster romance ensues, and only gradually does Stella acknowledge that Richard's bizarre, self-centered behavior is not normal. Even then, the earnest, usually sensible Stella remains devoted; love blinds her to the fact that Richard is a true cad.
It is hard to reconcile this rather naive Stella with someone who, as a teen-ager, had a glamorous and well-publicized affair with a movie director of international renown. And there is no exploration of why Richard behaves as he does, why he is so flighty, so angry.
Adams' novel is well-crafted, her sense of character almost perfect. As Adams recognized in her choice of title, the key word in ``Almost Perfect'' is ``almost.''
\ Mary Ann Johnson teaches at Roanoke College.
by CNB