Published in 1980, this novel is a 'post-modern fairy-tale' about the live between a Princess (of a small European state, living in exile in Seattle) and an outlaw who meet at an environmental conference in Hawaii. We also have red-headedness, UFOs and the power of pyramids.
It's the sort of novel that revels in word play and pokes fun at conventions. It's a satirical novel. The sort of novel in which the story is framed by the author taking about his typewriter (and ending in cursive script).
There's a certain touch of Chandleresque, especially when the outlaw is mentioned: "Her heart would grow moody, turn up the collar on its trench coat, pull down the brim of its hat, dangle a cigarette from its sullen lips, and go walk for hours on the poorly lighted streets of the waterfront." (Ch 80). And, like Chandler, he positively adores one-liners:
- "Her surname resembled a line from an optometrist's examination chart." (Ch 15)
- "The first time that she spread her legs for him it had been like opening her jaws for the dentist." (Ch 80)
- "The wedding was at dawn, and dawn had a nasty habit of showing up before breakfast." (Ch 91)
Selected quotes:
- "While the US publicly regretted that the junta permitted so few civil liberties, it was loath to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, particularly a nation that could be relied upon as an ally against those left-leaning nations in whose internal affairs the US did regularly interfere." (Ch 4)
- "Prince Charming was a toad. He lived in a terrarium at the foot of Leigh-Cheri's bed. And yes - you nosy ones - she had kissed the toad." (Ch 7)
- "It was autumn, the springtime of death." (Ch 11)
- "They say of the full moon, when the moon is neither increasing nor decreasing, the Babylonians called Sa-bat, meaning 'heart-rest'." (Ch 13)
- "Outlaws are can openers in the supermarket of life." (Ch 27)
- "The persistent rain that knows every hidden entrance into collar and shopping bag." (Ch 30)
- "Woodpecker's the name and outlawing's the game. I'm wanted in fifty states and Mexico. It's nice to feel wanted, and I'd like to be wanted by you." (Ch 35)
- "The line that separates objects from ideas can be pretty twiggy, but let's not unzip that pair of pants." (Ch 36)
- "If you're honest, you sooner or later have to confront your values. Then you're forced to separate what is right from what is merely legal." (Ch 38)
- "scruffed shoes." (Ch 39)
- "Now, art galleries, boutiques and discos were replacing the storefront churches, and the declasse luncheonettes were giving way to restaurants that featured imported mineral water and a gay waiter behind every fern." (Ch 48)
- "That uncomfortable half-amused half-resentful look that people always give you when they're remaining sober and you are getting looped." (Ch 51)
- "King Max was one of those who believed that psychology was at that point in its development that surgery was when it was practised by barbers." (Ch 55)
- "Max put his arm halfway around his wife - halfway was as far as he could reach." (Ch 55)
- "Space is merely a device to prevent everything from being in the same spot." (Ch 56)
- "The philosophy of CHOICE was outlaw philosophy, insofar as outlaws have philosophy (they are more inclined to have hangovers, herpes, and lousy credit ratings)." (Ch 71)
- "The Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls have been looked at so often they've become effete, sucked empty by too many stupid eyes." (Ch 81)
- "You go to paint the town red on a Sunday, you'd better be prepared for pink." (Ch 90)
- "How can one person be more real than any other? Well, some people do hide and others seek." (Ch 92)
September 2023; 276 pages
No comments:
Post a Comment