Heart Conditions

Lewis's ( Trying to Smile ) first novel is a graceful, deft and at times wryly comic portrait of a young woman in transition. At 33, Alice Hammond is an editorial assistant at a New York publishing house. Insecure, eager to please, she almost unconsciously allows herself to be used by just about everyone: her editors cajole her into working late and on weekends; her egocentric 89-year-old grandmother seems intent on turning her into an unpaid companion; and her live-in boyfriend Nick, an actor with a promising career, has just dumped her for another woman. As luck and plot would have it, that's when Alice finds she is pregnant with his child. Needing a place to stay, Alice hides her condition and moves in with Gram, who beguiles her with frequent and mesmerizing tales of her own astonishing past. An uneasy rapprochement sets in. When Nick and Dan, an admiring co-worker, turn up simultaneously after the baby is born, Gram proves to be uncannily astute. An ambivalent sister, loathsome cousins, and an editor from hell round out the sharply realistic cast of characters. In spite of lengthy introspection and some tedious dialogue, this remains a brisk and engrossing novel. Author tour. (Jan.)