Logan Baird, the irrepressible, insatiable protagonist of Robertson's robust third novel (after 2003's The Grain Mystique
), is a late-20s father of one, four years back from military service in Bosnia. He's facing a thankless job (he's a salesman for Severance Pharmaceuticals, a company best known for Virecta, a "male enhancement" breakthrough) and an ailing marriage (his lovely wife has become an "unsmiling common house frau"). Logan and his ultra-arrogant boss, Rush Donald, head off to a medical symposium at West Virginia's world-renowned Greenbrier resort and immediately get busy golfing and skirt-chasing. News of army buddy John Paul Silver's premature death shocks Logan, especially since John bequeathed the bulk of his estate to Logan for the creation of a memorial foundation for struggling writers, which Logan would supervise. Thrilled by thoughts of financial independence and escape from "anal sphincter" boss Rush, Logan hobnobs without restraint at Top Notch, an exclusive resort, until Rose arrives unannounced and infuriated. Smug, smarmy Logan quells his wife with vigorous, multi-orgasmic sex, contemplates a lucrative offer to join a respected contemporary's media conglomerate, and manages to finish a novel he'd abandoned. Lively prose gets congested in a meandering plot, but Logan, despite his obvious flaws, is a likable narrator, and Robertson's smart ruminations on class consciousness and his happy ending make the trip worthwhile. (Sept.)
