Portrait of the Walrus by a Young Artist

""If I'd known walruses were waiting for me on some back road in Florida, I might have taken more of an interest in bowling."" So begins Foos's satirical, fantastical second novel, which like her first, the well-received Ex Utero, delights in stretching metaphors into farcical realities. In this case bowling embodies life without art, pizza equals lust and the walrus becomes the artistic muse of Frances Fisk, a young woman who has taken to wearing her panties two sizes too small as a kind of hair shirt so she can never forget the pain she has suffered. After her slovenly father, a sculptor considered a genius by the art world, dies while attempting to take a bath, Frances is haunted by her memories of his madness. Meanwhile, her mother takes up bowling and marries ""the Kingpin,"" a man who owns a chain of alleys across the country. Frances's artistic and sexual awakening (via a dough-covered pizza maker) are plaintively narrated in the first person, taking a matter-of-fact approach to the surreal. At times, the transformation of symbols into flesh-and-blood occurrence is awkward. Still, Foos does illustrate the destructive and restorative nature of the artistic temperament. Her unique vision and bravado create a highly original novel. (May)