18 DECEMBER 1982, Page 44

Xi •

Patrick Skene Catlmg

Fiction dominated my reading in Otters three books by long-established 111001 seemed superior in their humanity, 'Nit 0,5

technical virtuosity. Graham 61.e;016, richly comic and ultimately moving "'_,ney'

tical novel, Monsignor Qum (TA Head), gave me the most pleasure (),, with the bonus that its many referelle'0 me to a rediscovery of Cervanteshe deeper understanding of t SP',/e, psyche. John Cheever's lucid short 110 icas Oh What a Paradise It Seems (CaPe edic- an elegant summation, a generous vw or ,es tion. And V. S. Pritchett's Collected Sf' (Chatto), representing 50 years d 0 ship, was full of insights, and Ste