Mahatma Gandhi in a Cadillac

Rosen hits all the right buttons in this sweet but ultimately predictable novel of life in the early 1960s right before the world turned mean. Danny Schwartz is watching Kennedy's inauguration as the novel opens, happy in the belief that Kennedy will bring about some real change. Although he is an idealistic liberal from the Bronx, Danny is also a Wharton M.B.A. who takes a summer job in Seattle working with a defense company--a dichotomy reflected in the title, a nickname given to Danny by his friends because he is both socially earnest and hellbent on making money. Once in Seattle, he meets beautiful Leslie Schmidt who, though she first seems innocent, has a wild past that includes getting ejected from a convent, befriending a Hindu monk who pals around with Marilyn Monroe and riding freight trains. The two hang out at jazz bars and learn a lot from the black people they befriend, who function more as dancing, singing and postulating extras than as real characters. (Apparently, Danny is responsible for bringing the twist to Seattle, although not everyone can ``pick it up in the Negro way as Leslie did immediately.'') The relationship between Danny and Leslie is a little silly (as is Leslie herself), but a bigger problem here is the lack of context. Rosen strikes a gentle tone and is an entertaining writer, but without some inkling of how those innocent times contrasted with the unknown that lay ahead, this fails to make the jump from well-written nostalgia to insightful literature. (Dec.)