LIFE BEFORE MAN

Written in 1979, this Atwood novel is dated in that its characters and their liaisons are no longer as shocking in their offhandedness as they were in the 1970s. Nor are they the most engaging set of "swingers" to be portrayed in fiction. So no matter how fabulously Lorelei King reads, this Atwood may catch you nodding off at the wheel. The saving grace is quirky Leslie, who is far more interested in the dinosaurs she studies than the men she sleeps with. If you didn't read this novel twenty years ago, here's a nicely interpreted version to catch you up. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]