Prim and proper 64 year old William Corker has decided to change his life. He has walked out on his invalid sister, and is moving into rooms above his office to live a life of freedom. Most of the novel takes place over one day. Corker's thoughts and daydreams alternate with the thoughts and observations of his young assistant Alec, who from a viewpoint of youthful naivetee and incomprehension notes Corker's more and more uncharacteristic actions as the day progresses. The inner lives of Corker and Alec alternate with the mundane details of Corker's employment agency business (in the 1960's when the tools of the trade were index cards and notebooks rather than computers). Berger uses these episodes to present incisive portraits of various job-seekers, including a beautiful young woman casing the joint for her burglar boyfriend and an elderly housekeeper who dreads ending her life in an old folks' home so much that she is willing to work for greatly reduced compensation. The novel reaches its climax in the evening when Corker gives a slide show/lecture on his trip to Vienna. This is presented in as series of comments entitled "What Corker Thinks/Wants to Say," "What Corker Knows," and "What Corker Says." There is an epilogue set two years later which shows Corker still "free," but in an entirely unpredictable way.

This is Berger's first novel, and it is a well-written tragi-comedy. However, I can't say I loved it, as it never called to me when I wasn't reading it.

2 1/2 stars ( )