doubtedly only a matter of time untilnthe sartorial rug is pulled out fromnunder them and they fall into the readyto-wearnracks, replaced by the up-andn-coming. One indication of the declinenof the current fashion moguls is thenfact that their names and initials cannbe seen on the backs, fronts and behindsnof those who obviously frequentnK-Mart rather than Lord & Taylor forntheir fashion needs..How many fashionnmodels have fallen from the coversnof top magazines since the novel wasnwritten—or since this essay was penned?nMary’s 10-year-old brother doesn’tnhave a Peter Frampton. He doesn’t likenbeing disturbed, so he spends much ofnhis time in a tree. And if not there, he’snsomeplace eating and eating and eatingn—even if his stomach pains him fromnbeing overloaded or if his pants are bitingninto his flabby flesh. He and Marynclaim to hate each other, as many ofntoday’s siblings do, and they display anremarkable vindictiveness. John Joelndoesn’t really have any friends, but ifnhe called anyone “friend,” it would bena boy named Parker.nParker also likes to eat, and henmatches John Joel in having very fewninterests. But Parker likes to play whatnhe no doubt considers practical jokes,nsuch as rolling up the ends of Salemsnto resemble joints and smoking themnin public, or, more privately, stickingna pin through his mother’s diaphragm.nAnd he does like to read—or look at—nmagazines such as Hustler and comicnbooks that show pictures of animals innperverted poses. Parker is the agent whonleads to what may be considered thenclimax of the novel (may be becausenthere’s no sense of rising or falling action).nWhile in John Joel’s tree, Parkernpulls out a pistol he has taken out of anbox of obscene little trinkets that hisnfather had secreted away. Parker playsnwith the gun, pretending to shoot birds,nclaiming to be like a character in a JamesnBond movie. Mary and Angela happennto be walking toward the tree. John Joelntells Parker to put the gun away. Parkerntells him not to worry about it; naturallynXZmmm^^immmmnChronicles of Calturenit’s not loaded, Parker says. John Joelntakes the gun away from him. On anwhim, he calls out his sister’s name,npoints the gun at her, and pulls the trigger.nThe inevitable happens.nAre these the children of the laten70’s and early 80’s? In some casessuchnas this one that Ann Beattie describesnwith a brilliance that inspiresnuneasiness—the answer is yes. However,nthey are not precocious littlenLolitas nor depraved Caligulas, butnrather children who do not have anynother role models than those who arenhailed in the pages of magazines andnon the screens of television sets. Theynare children who lack anybody who willnslap their wrists or any other parts ofntheir anatomy, saying, “That behaviornis wrong.” While children once admirednand imitated the likes of Nancy Drewnor Tom Swift—and did either ever evennkiss anyone?—some of today’s youthnfantasize on the likes of real people whonhave become so distorted and grotesquenthrough the process of being “hyped”nthat they resemble comic-book characters.nAnd with the moral permissivenessnthat is now so natural, the fantasy of an15-year-old girl becomes somethingnstraight out of a Cosmopolitan feature:nIf Peter Frampton went on a picnic,nMary was sure he went naked, in anspeedboat, to some private island atnmidnight, with the lady love and anbottle of champagne. He wouldn’t benseen dead in a button-down shirtnhanging out of a pair of baggy jeans,nwith a bag full of things to have anbarbeque with a wife and three childrenntrailing behind him.nNow there’s no reason to think thatnMr. Frampton wouldn’t go in a buttondownnshirt, etc., but a socially acceptednaura about him and many others makesnnnriding naked in a speedboat a plausiblenpastime.nWhile all this indicates that there isnsomething tragically wrong with thesenchildren, it must be pointed out thatnFalling in Place is essentially aboutnadults—at least those who are physiologically,nnot psychologically, grown up.nThe title of the book comes from ancomment Mary makes. Her parents,nJohn and Louise, are having a skirmishnin a restaurant, a minor battle in thenwar known as their marriage. Mary triesnto create a diversion by making annoffhand comment about something she’snreading for a summer-school class (she’snan all-A student gone bad): “… that’snwhat Vanity Fair is like. Things justnfall into place.” Her father thinks that’snone of the most profound utterancesnhe has ever heard. But more on himnlater. There are several other referencesnto falling throughout the novel: Skylab’snimpending fall; DC-lO’s crashing;npeople falling in and out of love; oldnfriends dropping in; fallout from ThreenMile Island; dreams of falling.nHowever, it seems to me that then”falling” that goes on in the novel rensembles tripping more than anythingnelse, which brings to mind the sensenof the comic. As Henri Bergson showednin his essay. Laughter, a person fallingnis funny only if we recognize that it wasnthe result of some sort of mechanicalninelasticity in that person. And he madena point that can be used as somethingnof a skeleton key to the novel: “… thencomic comes into being just when societynand the individual, freed from thenworry of self-preservation, begin tonregard themselves as works of art.”nAs shown, the children try to do preciselynthat. But the adults in the novelnconcentrate so hard on trying to resemblenthe cool crowd in New York Citynand other fashionable capitals that theynfall on their faces by tripping over thenslightest obstacle presented by “real”nlife.nIn a sense, Ann Beattie has writtenna comedy of manners. There are non