ACQUA CALDA

The revitalizing power of art drives this novel by a longtime theater actor, who acquits himself well in this debut. Suffering from AIDS, middle-aged actor Gerald Barnett is pulled off his deathbed by a call from his former mentor, the famous avant-garde director William Weiss. Weiss is a world-class eccentric, self-obsessed and prone to braying periodically that his work is a "diSASter." But Gerald knows that "his years acting in Bill's company had been the best of his life," and so despite his poor health, he makes an arduous trip to Sicily for one last glorious production. Despite the hectic pace, Gerald holds up pretty well, and he's further reinvigorated by an unexpected affair with Enzo, one of the local Italian actors. At the same time, the combination of a skin condition and Gerald's own vanity cause him to forgo his medications—a decision that puts him at risk as the show nears its opening night. McDermott ably captures the heady excitement of theater life, and surrounds Gerald with an eclectic, international cast, even if many of the characters are more like cultural types than individuals. Invested with a thoughtful humanity, this novel mostly steers clear of sentimentality. (Mar.)