The Sibyl’s Mistake
by Edward Wilson
iUniverse. 163 pages, $23.95
THIS CHARMING NOVEL follows a diverse group of Americans on their summer travels in Naples. The cast comes from all walks of life, including a tour group of older gay men “and their admirers” learning about the history and culture of the area, a paleontologist on a year-long sabbatical performing research and trying to escape his recent misadventures, a newly single woman taking a cruise, and a straight composer working on his Broadway debut with wife and daughter in tow. While the novel is primarily focused upon the escapades of the tour group, known as the Prime Numbers, their story interacts with the other characters’ at several points, sometimes in rather unusual ways.
Wilson, a paleontologist himself, provides a great deal of information about the geological history and formation of the area, especially concerning volcanic activity. This knowledge proves relevant toward the end of the novel, but it is also edifying in itself, reminding us of the powerful role that nature plays in the long-term history of any region. Along the way, the tourists engage in fascinating discussions about ancient history, the role of religion in today’s society, and the diversity of gay relationships. Wilson clearly knows a lot about many subjects and maintains a balance between seriousness and play, keeping the conversations breezily informative while moving the story along.
The vast majority of the characters are well drawn and fully fleshed out, with the exception of the composer John Campbell, whose views on children and family life seem strangely old-fashioned given his youth. But he serves as a humorous contrast to the other progressive, intelligent, and curious characters, and in the end he gets his comeuppance. The members of the Prime Numbers are by far the most interesting, full of gay men who are successful in both their personal and professional lives and eager to explore Naples’ historical and cultural wonders. Most of them are probably subscribers to this publication. Many have worked hard and suffered much in coming to terms with their sexuality, and can now look on their past with a good dose of humor. As one member remarks to his friend, who keeps wanting to tell him all about his previous life as a married man with children, “everyone here forgives you for having been so slow, so stupid really that you let yourself get trapped like that. … Tell it to your confessor and make him gag. Lay off your friends.”
Frank Bones, the paleontologist on sabbatical, starts the novel and cuts an intriguing figure. A tenured professor with an interest in fossil plants, he was also until recently a longtime member of an organization with unusual interests. On the surface he appears scholarly and rather ordinary, and yet throughout the novel there are glimpses of something darker and different hidden within. In those brief moments, he seems to come truly alive and be himself, however disturbing his actions may be.
The book takes a rather surprising turn at the end, with a tragic disaster and an encounter with a deity, both of which may seem out of place in a novel that until then had been fairly realistic and understated. However, any disbelief quickly fades through the enchantment of the writing, characters, and plot. As in a dream, the reader accepts without question the amazing events and follows the novel to its fateful conclusion. The Sibyl’s Mistake is a perfect summer book, light and entertaining but with digressions that tickle the intellect.
