Little Children

Tom Perrotta

I was worried about this book. Worried because it was the latest selection of my book club, and our picks have been lousy lately. Worried because I realized, not far in, that the two main characters' names were "Todd" and "Sarah" -- as in the names of my wife and I -- and that they were two people having an illicit affair, and those things can only end badly.

And worried because the subject matter -- adults floundering in suburbia, with the all-too-obvious symbolism of the title -- could have been handled sloppily or glibly.

Fortunately, author Tom Perrotta is better than that. Though the characters occasionally sink into cliche -- there's one perfectionist woman, whose precise life-living includes a lovemaking session with her husband scheduled for 9p.m. sharp each week, who doesn't quite rise above two dimensions -- Perrotta rarely takes the easy way out. His characters may start out with pat cocktail-psychology backgrounds (the man who lost a parent young, the ex-cop with the abusive father), but their inability to grow up is individualistic, distinctive and entirely their own fault.

Sarah is a 30-ish woman with a 3-year-old daughter. She's overeducated and her marriage is floundering. To fill her days she hangs out at the playground with other young mothers and their young children, but doesn't feel a bond with any of them. They're too domesticated, in her view.

So when "the Prom King," Todd, a virile young father with a 3-year-old son, shows up, Sarah starts taking foolish risks. First, for fun, she gives Todd an overly affectionate greeting at the playground in front of the other (shocked) mothers. Then she realizes she's tapped into her own sense of loss -- and excitement -- and she and Todd begin an affair. He's married, too, to a documentary filmmaker who has put her energy into her work and their son, and he's also unhappy with his lot in live. So he also decides to take a plunge into the unknown.

Lurking on the edges is Ronnie McGorvey, a recently freed child molester who's being harassed by Larry, the ex-cop, and who is feared by the neighborhood. Perrotta juggles all these plot strands well, leading to a somewhat unexpected ending -- unexpected, to me anyway, because it doesn't try to do too much. His wit is incisive but not harsh, and he looks upon all of HIS children fondly.

For me, the highest praise would be to compare him to Richard Russo. He's not quite as lyrical as Russo, but give him time. He's almost there.