cover image Parachute

Parachute

Richard Lees. Bantam Books, $7.95 (264pp) ISBN 978-0-553-34510-0

On the surface, Parachute is about a foundering marriage that regains its footing. Told in epistolary fashion, the novel centers on J. J. Towne, an overlooked playwright; his wife, Lynn, a striving composer; and their temporary loves. J. J. gets a break in New York City, where he falls for Anee, a 22-year-old soap-opera star and Mafia moll. Back in California, the spurned wife takes up with J. J.'s best friend. Midway through these affairs, Andee's boyfriend seeks revenge, nearly killing Lynn. The letters carry the story, but it's difficult to take seriously Lees's message that the '60s were good and the '80s are bad when his aging hippies are obsessed with fame, fortune and cocaine. The only evidence of '60s philosophy is in cliches like, ""In the darkness, my fingers search out the truth.'' (April)