The Very Air

The first half of this Dickensian novel by the author of the highly praised Dexterity is so suspenseful, poignant and irresistibly entertaining that even when the pace slows toward the middle of the narrative, readers will remain engrossed in hopes that Bauer will again discover his early inventiveness and verve. Although no resurrection occurs, the story is memorable by virtue of the conception of its protagonist, Luther Mathias. In an opening scene electric with portent, 10-year-old Luther's mother dies on their isolated Texas ranch in 1905, and Luther must ride alone to send a telegram to his father. Put in the care of his eccentric Aunt Joyce and Uncle Ray--as jolly a pair of swindlers as one could encounter--Luther joins their traveling medicine show. When death again interrupts his existence, Luther is warped by a sense of betrayal; moreover, he has adopted his uncle's view of human beings as prey waiting to be duped. Eventually, Luther becomes an (uncertified) ``doctor for male diseases,'' and his life crosses those of beautiful movie star Alyce Rae and her husband Billy Boswell. Overcome by hubris, Luther pretends to be a surgeon who can rejuvenate Billy's sexual performance via monkey gland implants. His subsequent rise as a medical charlatan marks the story's decline; the narrative loses its juice and becomes a cautionary tale of a self-made man propelled by anger, resentment and a need for power. Bauer makes some wonderful observations about life in America during the 1900s, and about humanity's eternal need for illusion, and his characterization is sharp and funny. But as Luther becomes inflated with self-importance, the narrative, too, becomes bloated and slow, and its early promise is dispelled. (Sept.)