Passing Time

HOLLYWOOD: A NOVEL OF AMERICA IN THE 1920S by Gore Vidal

Random House; 437 pages; $19.95

The combined marquee value of the names Hollywood and Gore Vidal probably equals the Latin American debt. Judging by its cover alone, drillions of people are going to buy this book. Those who also read it may be mildly unsettled to discover that much of the novel is set not in Hollywood but in Washington. However, Vidal's premise -- that both these places are pretty much alike -- is amusing enough to keep the customers happy.

Hollywood is the sixth installment in the author's sprawling rewrite of U.S. history, and the formula established in such earlier books as Burr (1973) and 1876 (1976) has grown comfy to a fault. Some fictional characters mingle with real people, rich, famous or notorious. Unfolding history can be overheard in drawing-room gossip. In this instance, the invention of the movies provokes drollery about crude, gullible Americans. When the dialogue is witty, Hollywood entertains. But its subject is essentially passing time, and reading it often feels like an exercise in doing just that.