AS MAX SAW IT by Louis...

AS MAX SAW IT by Louis Begley (Fawcett/Columbine: $10; 146 pp.). Max, the narrator of this eccentric novel, always seems to be observing the passions of others, rather than living. He remains a satellite, drawn into the orbit of more powerful personalities: Charlie Swann, the flamboyantly successful architect who teaches him about love and taste; the eccentric aunt, who makes him a wealthy man; his unfaithful wife. The result is an outre comedy of manners with a grim ending.