Most readers have passed judgement on Hugh Hood's great work-in-progress, The New Age/Le nouveau siècle, on the basis of the first three novels, The Swing in the Garden, A New Athens, and Reservoir Ravine. A number are hooked on the series, acclaiming it one of the most audacious, skilful, and satisfying literary enterprises undertaken in this country. But a larger body of readers—those who make the Atwoods, Richlers, Laurences, et al., national best sellers—have apparently been turned off by Hood's disregard for some of the conventions of narration, plotting, and character development, as well as by the extreme intellectualism of both Hood and his central characters. Black and White Keys, the fourth novel in the series, will utterly delight the addicted and may be the best entrée into the series for the non-believer. It is certainly the most powerful and most accessible volume...