MEMOIR FROM ANTPROOF CASE Mark Helprin (Harcourt Brace, $24) In the sense that a romance can be, according to Webster's dictionary, ''an emotional attraction or aura belonging to an especially heroic era, adventure, or activity,'' Helprin's books are the most romantic being published today. Helprin is romantic not just about characters or relationships, but about the human condition in general. His is an inspiring, seductive vision, and it is as apparent in his fourth novel as in the first three. A fictionalized autobiography written by a white-collar criminal on the lam in Brazil for his adopted son, the book ranges from the luxe of Park Avenue to the deprivations of World War II Europe to the bountiful natural landscape of South America. The ''author,'' whose name is never revealed, is an American who spent most of his adolescence in an idyllic mental hospital because of an extreme coffee phobia. He later attained glory on Wall Street, flew jets, married an heiress, and pulled off a many-million-dollar gold heist at his bank. His story, unbelievable though it may be, is, in his words, totally credible. If in form and fantasy this novel is somewhat similar to Helprin's last, that is no reason to dismiss it. Read it, and take heart. A- -- Vanessa V. Friedman
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