Vampires, endless verse, good stuff Novels for October

Boyd's novel is the story of a young insurance adjustor whose predictable rise to a comfortable success in business is interrupted by a murder and the sudden appearance of strange people in his life. Set in London, the tale combines a touch of Dickensian realistic comedy with a Kafkaesque sense of modern urban terror. Though his business has given him an eye for risk and danger, the hero is completely unprepared for the web of fraud and deceit that slowly spreads through his world.

Hilary Mantel's "The Giant O'Brien" (Holt, 191 pages, $22) is also a rare treat. It is a darkly amusing story about an Irish giant who comes to London to exhibit himself at the end of the Age of Enlightenment.

Naturally, the sages of the time exploit and abuse the creature whom they regard as a mere freak; but O'Brien's great heart reveals him to be a much better man than any of the moral midgets around him. Mantel's book is beautifully written and uncommonly sane.

Michael Shelden is the author of three biographies and writes for the Daily Telegraph in London, the Times of London, the Washington Post and others.

Pub Date: 10/04/98