It goes without saying that Peter De Vries is terrifically amusing in this, his 21st work of fiction. As in many of his recent books, he tells in Slouching Towards Kalamazoo the instructive tale of a young person from the heartland who encounters the sexual revolution in all its baffling glory and who pays the price for its pleasures: "What a mess! What a shambles I had made of my life just for an ankle down the old primrose path!" It is a tale of innocence and carnality, a mix both explosive and hilarious, and the wily De Vries milks it for every available laugh; but it is also a tale of sober and sobering aspects, and these too De Vries explores with characteristic subtlety.

The innocent of the tale is Anthony Thrasher, a.k.a. Tony, a.k.a. Biff, who as the story begins is a...