Memories of a Marriage

In this latest glimpse of the upper-crust terrain Begley knows so well (About Schmidt), a chance encounter at the ballet sends Philip on a book-long inquiry into the mental health and veracity of seventyish former debutante Lucy de Bourgh, the daughter of one of Rhode Island's first families. Philip, a successful novelist and the story's narrator, had known Lucy in their richly privileged youth, when she was a bit of a wildcat, promiscuous even. Lucy surprised all by marrying Thomas Snow, the Harvard- and London School of Economics-educated son of a garage owner and a bookkeeper. Thomas would become ultrarich, a world-renowned banker, but after the marriage failed, Lucy portrayed him as a social climber and "monster" (sexually, it seems). Philip, who knew Thomas well, tries to determine the truth; Lucy's erratic behavior should tip him off more than it does, especially when all other characters, including a well-centered second wife, see Thomas as kind and thoughtful. The "monster" question is ultimately never settled; at end as at beginning, it's all about egomaniac Lucy.