Starbuck

THE portrait of the European artist as a young man is fairly well known, but how does an American artist develop? Mr. Selby’s fine novel attempts to supply some of the answers. Brant Starbuck tries hard to be an ordinary American boy: he fights, he runs away, and later he gets drunk just for the hell of it. His family, his friends, and his teachers try to keep him normal. But Brant’s genius at the piano sets him apart and sends him rocketing into fame regardless.

From the welter of people in the book a few stand out clearly as individuals — salty old Mother Trace, Brant’s grandmother; Cherry and Tracy, the girls who love him; Marya and Dauilovski and Herr Bekker, his teachers. The story is swift and readable.