Marlowe in the South Seas

Wagner's first novel has the feel of one of those road movies from the '70s--a lot of motion, but not much direction. What it lacks in structure, however, it makes up for in oddly engaging characters. The narrator, ""Lucky"" Marlowe, is a sailor, like Joseph Conrad's Marlowe. He joins the navy toward the end of the Vietnam War and, while on shore leave, he meets and grows attached to a Filipina bar hostess named Polly. They promise to keep in touch, and she will remain an important if intermittent presence in Marlowe's life. His enlistment up, he returns to New York City and moves in with two childhood friends, Dave and Stefan. These three highly literate underachievers live in pursuit of sex, drugs and, in Dave's case, rock 'n' roll stardom. Stefan, nicknamed ""Mr. Cosmic,"" has a penchant for philosophy, acid and susceptible young women. Marlowe is more interested in romance than college or career advancement, as a string of menial jobs indicates. He courts Doreen, a straitlaced secretary at a lawyer's office, and Alice, who teases Marlowe and relies on him for friendship and emotional support, but prefers sex with other guys. All along, though, Marlowe wonders if perhaps Polly, who has married an American and moved to San Francisco, might be the one he was meant to be with. Wagner's dialogue, while clever at times, too often lapses into banality, and the pacing becomes ever more slapdash as the narrative progresses. Marlowe and his friends, despite their narcissism and complete lack of responsibility, are surprisingly endearing, not so much for their acts as for their dogged fumbling with fate. (Feb.)