THIS PERFECT DAY

Rosemary hasn't had another baby. Mr. Levin's new novel is as disappointingly lifeless as the life it projects in the universe of tomorrow under the omniscient surveillance of UniComp. It's a friction-free world where hate is the dirtiest four letter word, where sex is scheduled weekly and treatments programmed to minimize your aggression--and joy. Li, whose nameber is Li RM35M4419, inherits from his grandfather a certain independence of mind and begins to question: were not people happier and more alive in the pre-U World? Joining up with a few others, including Lilac with whom he falls in love, he escapes to Majorca (one of the places where the ""incurables"" are sent); and after multifarious experiences, has his confrontation with Wei--""Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ, All but Wei were sacrificed."" He finally realizes for what higher purposes he has been chosen. . . . The novel never proceeds beyond the givens established early on and assumes its takers on the basis of Mr. Levin's nameber. Uni-vacuous.