[Marriages] is a pastiche' of almost every notable American novel written about Europe, from J. P. Donleavy's Ireland to Henry James's Paris, but [Mr Straub] anticipates any criticism of overliterariness or derivativeness by using those qualities as a conscious and essential ingredient….

With so many echoes and resonances, it is remarkable that Mr Straub retains a distinctive voice in the story. His story of an American businessman living in Europe, and his love affairs with his wife and mistress, is intricately controlled and focused; the complex series of flashbacks and time-cuts coheres because every time, place, or emotion is fully evoked. Everything is named and labelled, from Dublin streets to London restaurants, with the exception of "the woman" at the very centre of it.

Owen's affair with this woman forms the central thread of the book, but a whole cloth of other marriages and relationships has been woven...