People caught in changing times

Vladimir By Julie May Jonas, Simon& Schuster, $37.99

This is a novel filled with some rather unpleasant people, some sly and provocative content, and a riproaring story of changes in sexual times.

A beloved English professor at a small United States college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with former students. The narrator is his wife, also a professor at the same university and in her late 50s. The couple have long had amutual understanding about their extramarital dalliances, but now the husband's behaviour is no longer acceptable to anyone. It's a bit of amess, as sexual politics have changed and students demand the removal of the husband, and resignation of his wife as an enabler.

And nowthe unnamed wife has become infatuated with Vladimir, a young married novelist who has just arrived on campus with his beautiful but emotionally damaged wife. It's clear that the highly educated can be absolute fools.

This is Jonas' first novel, and she writes quite deliciously about campus politics, thehuman heart and temptation, and what is acceptable in the modern age. —