Synopsis
Moves across continents and between past and present to depict the story of a man dealing with the strains of mid-life after he loses both his father and the woman he loves
Reviews
In a strong American debut, British author King ( Written on a Stranger's Map ) explores themes of personal discovery and professional disenchantment. William Bender, a British consultant for such international financial organizations as the World Bank and the IMF, is prompted by news of his father's death to reassess his own life. On the South Pacific island of Ruatua, where he's trying to resolve problems caused by previous international meddling, Bender contemplates his childhood and his relationships with his wife, his lovers, in particular the Chinese woman Han and his Ruatuan lover Emo, and his colleagues. He realizes that he is world-weary, no longer emotionally suited to pull off high-level financial deals that require him to ignore the various economic abuses, shady doings and outright crime they often entail. The heart of the novel, however, is his struggle to find his identity. Both he and other characters are not quite what they seem and some have more than one name--Bender, for example, is known as Will, William and Bill. After a somewhat slow beginning, King delivers an elegaic and intelligent study of Bender's growing self-awareness, his increasing willingness to face the truth--and lies--of his past and his simultaneous disillusionment.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
An ambitious and intelligent novel of a midlife crisis from British-born writer King (Horizontal Hotel, 1984)--but one let down by too much consciously fine writing and too few reasons for empathizing with the hero. Narrator Bill Bender has admirably worked his way up and out from his British working-class beginnings--dad Ben was a milkman-- to become a successful international consultant. But when dad dies while Bill is on assignment with two Japanese colleagues in the wilds of Pakistan, Bill begins to look into himself--and predictably what he sees is not very pretty. His marriage to beautiful French aristocrat Mireille has broken down because Bill's neglected her; his torrid affair with an ambitious but troubled co- worker, Han, ended because he couldn't commit himself; he has never bothered over the years to find out what his parents were really like; and his work, making loans to Third World countries, is a cynical exercise in corrupting benevolence. The crisis unfolds as Bill leaves Pakistan and heads on another assignment to an idyllic island in the Pacific, where a few years back he had a brief affair. Here, he hunkers down, takes up with his old flame, does his best to help the local economy, and thinks about himself, his parents, and the meaning of life. He imagines a fictive past for his father, which offers a brief consolation, and is finally ready to make his peace with his estranged wife, console his mother, and take up any offer ``sufficiently mixed in its intentions to be given the benefit of my doubt.'' Former consultant King makes the descriptions of Bill Bender's work vivid and interesting, but Bill out-of-the-office is a rather conventional salaryman despite all his agonizing. Promising elements. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
In an elegant, detached style, British author King dispassionately scrutinizes the midlife crisis of international aid consultant William Bender. A sophisticated, highly intelligent man, Bender has become world-weary and cynical from constant encounters with the petty corruption of politicians in developing countries. The death of his milkman father is the impetus for Bender to examine both the validity of his work and the shambles of his personal life. His story unfolds in flashbacks from the vantage point of his idyllic existence on the small island of Ruatua: his estrangement from Mireille, his genteel French wife; the erotic hold of Han, his totally unscrupulous Chinese mistress who leads him into decadence; and his ambivalent feelings about his father's limited ambition and seemingly narrow life. Although Bender's British reserve keeps him somewhat distant from the reader, this is an oddly compelling novel that is recommended for larger fiction collections.
- Patricia Ross, Westerville P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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