JASPER, AND THE LOVE OF MONEY

This is rather original in its capers but pretty unfocused also. Jasper is a young jape in post-WWII Washington, D.C. He works at Hammersteinberger's department store in a minor position--the same he held before he went off to the war. We meet him on a bus ride he is taking with his girlfriend to her home town where they are to be married. The lad is constantly trying to make out with his virgin bride but she is holding off for the wedding night. During the bus ride the story lapses into flashbacks about Jasper's family, his job, his army career and catalogues just about every sexual act he committed. Reardon has an eye for weird characters, including the bride's parents, the minister, and Jasper's best friend, Jason. While the flashbacks pile up without much order, we follow Jasper through his blood test, wedding rehearsal, the wedding and much beer guzzling. It is amusing but the author abandons any attempt to tell a half-way meaningful story, even about money. Lots of monkey and no business.