Lawrence Block is still a great writer, even under another name. Interesting book... ( )

Lawrence Block is still a great writer, even under another name. Interesting book... ( )

Published in 1970 and reflecting many of the social mores of the time, Threesome is the title of this book and, while it is descriptive of some of the action in the book, it is a book told from three points of view. Harry, Priss, and Rhoda decide that they will write a novel, giving their inner thoughts, each alternating a chapter in the novel from their own points of view. Harry is a cartoonist. He lives with his wife (Priss) up in the country, heading into NYC every Wednesday ostensibly to meet with publishers. Rhoda is a recent divorcee who has been living on the west coast and is between jobs and between marriages and between lives. Rhoda and Priss were college roommates eight years earlier and were, at times, more than merely roommates to each other.

While this book may have been published in an attempt to spark newsstand interest of the most purient kind, what makes it good is not the steamy scenes in it, but the amazingly creative way in which Block makes his characters and their inner thoughts come alive on the pages. It displays considerable craft on Block’s part, craft which later was used to create many characters in the novels which he actually published under his own name.

That being said, be forewarned that this book is clearly for adults only with sexual scenes that leave nothing to the imagination. It may be an awkward book to read in public given the title and the content. ( )