I finished this novel by Vollman a few weeks back. It's
predominantly about a journalist and photographer who mask a
sex tour of Cambodia and Thailand with supposedly
professional intent. It is at least partly reminiscent of
Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Both novels portray a
character searching for love in vain in a world made
meaningless in the shadow of some dark and deadly large scale
slaughter, Hemingway's the first world war and Vollman's the
Khmer Rouge. There is a lot of heavy drinking and
hell-raising with the distinct impression that it is all a
thinly veiled charade for hollow lives in a world with no
moral compass. The protagonists of the novels are not carbon
copies, though. Hemingway's Jake is stoic, struggling to show
self-discipline and grace under pressure, while Vollman's
miserable character is self-indulgent and totally without any
self-control. Vollman does not shirk his writer's duty,
though, and the character's ending rings true.
The story itself had some high spots, but few of them
involved the protagonist. This is the second and last novel
I'll read by Vollman. I read Whores for Gloria a few months
back. Of the two, I'd recommend Whores for Gloria.
miker
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