The Plastic Tomato Cutter

Brilliant satire enlivens this bittersweet, amoral chronicle of society's changing values and the friends who confront them. Two narrators define the Irish city of Limerick in counterpoint: one commenting on the passing scene as he holds out against change, the other struggling with the absurdities of contemporary life. The first voice is that of Mr. Yendall of the House of Montague, a men's clothier which, at the novel's opening, has already begun its gradual decline. The second narrator is Tim Harding, the 28-year-old president (and sole employee) of Fagend, a company that helps people stop smoking. Curtin ( The League Against Christmas ) also populates his novel with a handful of other memorable people whose lives are variously roguish and sportive, winsome and bilious. The most interesting character is Yendall, whose heroic refusal to acknowledge the decades of modernism (to which the title alludes) ultimately elicits admiration. As the book concludes, Curtin raises the banner for controlled anarchy: enemies become friends, legal and religious standards are overlooked for the better and Harding comes full circle to begin helping those who can't manage to relinquish their cigarettes. (Feb.)