2 JANUARY 1999, page 31

A Good Baker's Dozen

Antony Rouse ADULTERY AND OTHER DIVERSIONS by Tim Parks Secker, £14.99, pp. 184 T im Parks is a writer who has earned our careful attention. He is the author of two successful......

A Great, Complicated Melody

C. D. C. Armstrong MEMOIR by Conor Cruise O'Brien Profile, £20, pp. 460 1' hat a prodigy is Conor Cruise O'Brien! Consider the offices and appoint- ments he has held: he has......