Innocence

Jones (Particles of Luck) proves himself to be dexterous at both comedy and suspense in this story of the sexual awakening of a somewhat peculiar middle-aged man and the intimate, amateur surgery he undertakes late in the novel. Plastic surgery, sex, real estate, and religion are the chief preoccupations of John Gegenuber, a former minister living in Marin County, Calif. John, who recently underwent surgery for a cleft palate, is in timid acquiescence of the romantic overtures of Thalia, a fellow patient of John’s plastic surgeon. Doctor Auctor has dubious qualifications but a high success rate, and he remains omnipresent though physically absent throughout the novel. The novel opens with a suggestive phone call from Thalia, summoning John on a romantic weekend getaway in Napa. A real estate deal John is presiding over for an elderly client and Thalia’s prior obligation to a busload of developmentally disabled adults intrude on their sweetly fumbling courtship. John and Thalia, with their physical flaws now cosmetically hidden, spend their weekend away learning about one another’s less obvious deficiencies in the midst of their professional obligations. Tender, funny, and sometimes grotesque, this novel is both challenging and eminently readable. (Mar.)