HOW LIKE AN ANGEL

A Michigan man hies to a remote cabin in the woods to weather a midlife crisis in Driscoll's observant, meandering fourth novel, which traces the struggles of Archibald Angel after his divorce from his vegan artist wife, Z. A compulsive reminiscer, Angel recalls his parents' troubled marriage—his intelligent but deeply troubled mother ran off to escape his straitlaced, controlling mortician father—as well as his father's failings and his mother's illness and death. Archie's also anxious to keep his relationship with his son, Rodney, strong, and eager to find love with new girlfriend Rhea. The Rhea and Rodney narrative threads show signs of life, but Driscoll never develops a strong story line to pull readers along. The parts are better than the whole: Driscoll's sentences often shimmer with feeling, and some individual scenes (such as the opener, in which Archie and Z confront a doomed swan at the same time they acknowledge the death of their marriage) shine as well, but Archie's self-absorbed, flashback-heavy narration grows wearying. (May)