Books: No Soap

MILKBOTTLE H by Gil Orlovitz. 534 pages. Dell. $7.50.

Gil Orlovitz's first novel may well boast the longest bath scene in literary history. As early as page 8, Lee Emanuel starts undressing. But he proves far less interested in drawing water than in pouring streams of consciousness from the taps of James Joyce. It is not until page 122 that he actually enters the tub. By page 517, he has come to a decision: from now on, the shower for him. By then, it's too late. Orlovitz's waterlogged novel has gone down the drain—a victim...