The Sweets of Pimlico

Evelyn Tradescant, a London mathematics teacher recently jilted by the stuffy Geoffrey, is befriended by Theo Gormann, a mysterious, charming German emigre thrice her age. Through him, Evelyn encounters John ``Pimlico'' Price, enigmatic bisexual owner of a Scottish candy factory. As both men pursue Evelyn, her romantic life is further complicated by an incestuous romp with her adorable bisexual brother, Jeremy, not so coincidentally a sometime lover of Pimlico's. In quick succession, Gormann reveals that he wishes to bequeath to Evelyn half of his very large fortune; Pimlicowho would otherwise have inherited nearly the entire estateproposes marriage; and Gormann is seriously injured. The novel is replete with wonderfully quirky, stylish writing; bizarre, not completely likable yet compelling characters; lively dialogue; and matter-of-fact, often hilarious, treatments of sex. As Wilson skillfully involves the reader in Evelyn's odd little world, the action grows increasingly weird, and characters intertwine even further. But the work ultimately disappoints with an anticlimactic ending. This is the first U.S. publication of a veteran novelist's first effort (his 11th book, Incline Our Hearts , has recently been published). With his prodigious imagination, Wilson can doand has done, in other books and in parts of this onebetter. (Mar.)