My book is one I rescued from the local transfer station/dump trailer. A paperback with Ben Gazzara on the cover from 1979. I'm pretty sure I saw the movie but I don't remember much. This will be only my second Paul Theroux novel though I have read some great short stories from him, including a few in The New Yorker.Slow progress but I'll get into it tonight. This the second of PT's books I've read that take place at or near the time I visited or lived in those places. The first was "Hotel Honolulu". I visited Singapore for five days in 1967 while in the Navy. Naturally I didn't really get to learn much about it. I did "experience" the transvestite boys(NO... not THAT way) and they were indeed very attractive. Went into Raffles and has some weird fun with some Brit Army(?) guides. Ever seen that weird drinking-slapping game??? Drank Tiger beer(rotgut), went to an exhibition soccer(football) game, visited Bugis Street, hung out at the American Club pool, ate some excellent stir-fry, was escorted around with Jeff Longstaff by a little Indian guy who I think was a labor agitator who took us to a place that I won't tell any more about and drove by the gates of Changi Prison. I think I'd seen "King Rat" by then... Mr. T. is a gifted writer with a unique way with words that's entertaining and challenging. Expect to read about sex when you pick up one of his stories.About halfway through and liking it. I encountered a nice lyrical passage that reminded me of a favorite bit of writing from "The Moviegoer" about evening in Chantilly(New Orleans)...And done last night. An interesting and unusual book. The Theroux prose style is challenging and reminds me a bit of Jim Harrison and Richard Ford. I think that as is typical(so far) for PT this book is about SEX and our cultural context for it. Then compared to different cultures. It's about Singapore too and ultimately about Jack. I wonder if PT knew someone like him...
Told in three parts (present - flashback - present), this is the story of a 'feller' (the main character's incessant use of this term is incredibly irritating after a time) abroad in Singapore in the 50s and 60s. The novel is almost classically structured, designed to explain how the main character gets to where he is, and why he makes the choice he makes in the novel's closing pages. In terms of plot and structure, the work is exceedingly well-crafted. At times, at the level of the sentence, there are languors not entirely accounted for by the first-person narration. Still, an entertaining and occasionally humorous read.
Theroux can be SUCH a bore. When he's not on a train complaining, he's somewhere hot...complaining. He's probably 'the author I'd least like to travel with'...or, I suppose, with whom I'd least like to travel.Which is why this is such a wonderful surprise. The main character is someone you'd like to meet, ideally in some sleazy bar in pre-clean-up Bugis Street. He's got the period, the location, and the people down pat. It's just such a shame that they made such an awful hash of the movie. I tried to get local finance for a re-make a few years back, but the political climate was wrong at the time, and now it wouldn't get backing because it's not the sort of Singapore the authorities want to remember. Shame, really. Johnny Depp could do it. But then JD can do 'most anything.
—Neil
This is the truly cool cucumber we all want to be, a guy who can stand his ground when the heat is on. Jack is a survivor, but with heart, and if the only way he can make the world a little better is to NOT make it worse, then that's what he will do. One can find art even in dirty Asian brothels and shitty little shipping offices if one looks closely enough. (Also, check out that gritty, uncomfortable, beautiful movie version out there by Bogdonavich and Gazarra. It's an acquired taste, but worth it.)
—Stephen
