PRAGUE

This first novel paints a group portrait of a new "Lost Generation" of young, solipsistic Yanks drawn to Budapest after the Iron Curtain's fall. Actually, it was Prague that beckoned but Hungary that caught them. The symbols, tropes, humor, and HOMAGES to Hemingway, Isherwood, and Maupin are self-conscious, overly clever, and heavy-handed--faults amplified by Andy Paris's overly theatrical narration. In displaying his skill, Paris loses the purport of the action and dialogue. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]