Bardo

The concept is good: a 400-page novel spanning the last couple of seconds of a man's life. Nicholson Baker does this sort of thing well. But this ambitious narrative by former special White House consultant Kraus (The President's Son) begins awkwardly, continues confusingly, and eventually becomes tedious. Its characters include ""The Boy,"" an adolescent version of The Boy, called AD, and yet another faceted personality, the adult incarnation of The Boy and AD, called EG. In a technique that indicates a stumbling desire to express the unity of all things, The Boy, AD and EG also surface as at least half a dozen other people interacting with various versions of other characters who bear more conventional names. There is a lot of sex here, too, lustily described, including the rape of a 15-year-old boy in front of his mother by the leader of a futuristic, triumphant gang of gay and lesbian revolutionary militia, a miraculous blow job given to Jesus on the cross in the moments after his death and another administered by a five-year-old boy to his father as they both stand at the toilet urinating. Hinduism is the basis of much of the philosophical content here (the title refers to a Buddhist concept of a free-floating state between life and death), as well as other more or less amorphous spiritual principles. The relationships among various religions, and between religion and the spirit, are explored, but in such fragmented fashion that the reader also free-floats--off the page. For those who enjoy experimental fiction, Bardo may provide some moments of insight; others will find themselves nodding off. Author tour. (Oct.)