GOING PUBLIC

The sensibility behind this comic novel by the author of The Kitchen Man (1985) is all It's a Wonderful Life, but updated to account for today's divorce rate, sexual liberation, compulsive career grubbing, and good kids who nonetheless pierce each ear five times. So here Wood serves up a modern family, headed by Corey Richardson, a computer-biz entrepreneur on the verge of putting his infant Camelot Software Systems on the map. Of course, 20- hour days begin taking their toll on Corey's home life, though his slightly overweight but gutsy wife, Angela, hangs tough. Privately, she doesn't care whether they ever have enough money to send their daughter, Foxie, to private school or redecorate their ramshackle Boston house. Increasingly, however, Corey does, particularly when a venture capitalist helps him realize his dreams for Camelot. Success affects his libido as well, drawing him into an affair with ambitious young Marla, who unlike Angela dresses well and likes to eat out. A nasty divorce ensues, which ultimately gives Angela the chance to date a Celtics star and become a free-lance photographer. Five years pass, things at Camelot go stale, and Corey finds out that Marla has been playing around with a younger man. So what's a good guy like Corey to do, except start looking at Angela with fresh eyes? The resulta second shot for the Richardson marriageis all too predictable, and the book would have benefitted from a rigorous editing. But the characters are quirky and mostly lovable, and the moral underpinnings as wholesome as apple pie, making this a sweet bet of a love story for the Reader's Digest crowd.