NOVEL

Kate Christensen, The Great Man (Doubleday, $23.95). The latest from the author of Jeremy Thrane is a smart, sly tale of two would-be biographers who duel over the corpse of a famous painter, aided and abetted by his wife, mistress, and sister. Some of the trompe l’oeil effects (like the introductory New York Times obit) are a little out of focus, but the book proper is an impressive and entertaining piece of storytelling that adds further luster to Christensen’s reputation as one of New York’s most interesting young novelists (TT).