A Natural Curiosity

Margaret Drabble. Penguin Books, $10 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-14-012228-2

Continuing her ironic depiction of ``mean, cold, ugly, divided, tired . . . post-imperial, post-industrial'' Britain, and taking up the lives of characters met in The Radiant Way , Drabble here produces a tighter and more cohesive tale . ``While her quirky characters often seem to exist to vent their author's spleen, they animate an involving story,'' observed PW. (Sept.)

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