The Country House

by Desmond Grieg. Viking,$4.95.

The origin of this first novel from South Africa appears to lie in one of those remarks that sound profound at two in the morningsomething on the order of, life is like a large house party of strangers with no host in sight. Mr. Grieg has illustrated the notion with good writing, a lot of confused action, and a hero named Perdix, but he has not extended or developed his simile, which wears thin long before the end of the book.