THE PIGEON <i> by Patrick Suskind (Washington Square Press: $5.95) </i>

Patrick Suskind’s second novel focuses on 24 hours in the life of Jonathan Noel, an isolated, alienated Parisian bank guard who makes Camus’ Mersault seem like a glad-hander. Noel’s remote existence is so meticulously ordered that the unexpected appearance of an ordinary pigeon in the hallway of his rooming house plunges him into a crisis of despair and doubt.

Like Job--to whom he would probably compare himself--Noel receives a rebuke from On High. A distant peal of thunder replaces the Voice Out of the Whirlwind, reminding him of his humanity and the need for companionship. Grotesque, funny and often moving, this brief book is warmer and more affirming than Suskind’s celebrated first novel, “Perfume.”