TOO NEAR THE SUN

A dedication to decay is the signature of Stuart Ashton, citizen of San Felipe, California, working hard at being a lotus eater and castigating not only himself but also his wife, Louise -- no angel herself -- and his mistress, Sandy, who is hoping he will be strong enough to get a divorce so that marriage will steady them. Talented, well supplied with the world's goods, Ashton lives on a diet of tension and emotion, is undergoing psychiatric treatment with Dr. Sebrof, chips away at his own feelings as well as those of Sandy and Louise. The return from a two weeks shacking up with Sandy, the onslaught of Fiesta and its parties resolve Ashton's problems forever, as quarrels, drunkenness and self torture result in a fatal accident. The predatory world of too much money, too little work, of wasted minds and vitiating inertia; the law of a pack based on acceptability; the anatomy of the ""high and mighty"" and their brawls and idiotic cruelties -- are here in nervous, keen-eared reportage and the words are brighter than the deeds.