FICTION

E-MAIL: A Love Story by Stephanie D. Fletcher (Donald I. Fine: $21.95; 246 pp.). Written entirely in the format of computer e-mail, Stephanie Fletcher’s first novel deals with what happens when a bored, slightly depressed housewife begins conversing on an adult topics bulletin board. What starts as a diversion quickly becomes a full-blown obsession as the protagonist, Katherine Simmons, gets involved (online) with two different men. Soon, she’s neglecting the rest of her life to spend as many as 10 hours a day at the computer. Inevitably, problems occur, and Katherine must decide, through painful soul-searching, what sort of person she wants to be.

Fletcher’s characters are expertly conceived, yet our entire experience of them is limited to the secrets they tell each other on e-mail, which, although extremely realistic, is not as interesting as one might think. There is a reason that only famous people get their mail published. Another problem is “E-Mail’s” focus on the various issues surrounding computer relationships. Placing so much emphasis on current events greatly narrows the scope of an otherwise engaging story about love and middle age. Ironically, “E-Mail” would be a much stronger novel without the e-mail.