IKE AND MAMA AND THE ONCE-A-YEAR-SUIT

Snyder's evocation of an ethnic yesterday takes Ike, twelve other boys from his Bronx neighborhood, and Ike's Mama, who's a reputed clothing maven, on an early morning E1 fide to the Lower East Side--where Mama bargains expertly for 13 once-a-year suits as the well-disciplined boys ""try on"" without a word. The tension comes from Ike's worry that he'll get no suit, or one he dislikes, because he broke Mama's number one rule and actually expressed a preference in front of the storekeeper; instead, Mama manages to get Ike's suit (the one he had chosen) thrown in for free, and she later congratulates him on his taste. Mama herself would sniff at a story so unsubstantial, but for a more indulgent generation there's lots of flavor here--only part of it derived from the garlic bags the boys all wear to ward off flu.