Three Lives

January 4, 1993
The lives of three New York WASPs come under the scrutiny of Auchincloss's ( False Gods ) meticulous eye and deep moral vision. He examines them in his usual accomplished--if somewhat chilly--prose, laced with French phrases, references to the Great Books and acerbic, sometimes precious dialogue. Two novellas are narrated by their male protagonists, and as their titles--``The Epicurean'' and ``The Stoic''--indicate, they illuminate extreme approaches to life. The man of leisure at the heart of ``The Epicurean'' uses his family money to cushion his escapades as an artistic dilettante in Paris and a game hunter in Africa. When WW II brings an abrupt end to this pattern, the denouement seems coy rather than ordained. Related by a woman, the middle tale, a miniature novel of manners called ``The Realist,'' has a more moderate outlook. Its story-within-a-story structure is contrived and proves frustrating. The most polished entry is the final tale, set in the early part of the 20th century, Auchincloss's favorite setting. ``The Stoic'' inhabits the world of finance, arranged intimacies and measured obligations to society. Harshly judgmental, he lives by his own rigid set of rules and resentments and is happy only when his hatred bears fruit. Reading about this rarefied milieu may make readers glad that they do not inhabit it.

November 15, 1992
The writer of these stories, a former lawyer and prolific author of fiction and nonfiction, again uses his knowledge of law and upper-class New York society to present in his inimitably elegant style three sympathetic characters. Wealthy Nat Chisolm, whose remorseless grasping after pleasure illustrates the tale "The Epicurean," eventually finds life emotionally unsatisfying; Alida Vermeule, "The Realist," uses her restricted station in life to shape her husband's career; and George Manville, "The Stoic," shields himself from human contact by wrapping himself in the ascetic certainties of commerce. Challenged intellectually and morally by their dilemmas, and shaped by the demands of their society, Auchincloss's protagonists wrangle with their destiny. Recommended for public libraries.-- Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.

Copyright 1992 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 1992
Perhaps Auchincloss had in mind such works as Gertrude Stein's "Three Lives," Willa Cather's "Obscure Destinies," and John O'Hara's "Sermons and Soda-Water" when he wrote this book. Like those, it consists of three novellas disclosing the lives (they are their narrators' autobiographies) of three characters from the same stratum of society. Auchincloss being Auchincloss, that means they are lives of the rich--of three New Yorkers born to wealth around the turn of the century. "The Epicurean" is Nat Chisolm, whose life is a constant pursuit of the next pleasureful challenge in sport, art, love, or war. "The Realist" is Alida Vermeule, an intelligent woman who finds a way to exercise power despite early twentieth-century restrictions upon her gender. "The Stoic" is principled, austere, and virginal investment banker George Manville, who manages to attain everything that most satisfies him, including an heir, despite--or because of--the follies and emotional indulgences of those around him. Each novella is as fine an example of the literature of manners as you're likely to find--full of literate conversation, sharp characterization, effortless yet rich scene-setting, and significant ethical conflict. Superb reading. ((Reviewed Oct. 1, 1992))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1992, American Library Association.)