My other recent purchases is Kent Harrington's new novel RED
JUNGLE (2005) is just out in the last couple of weeks from
Dennis McMillan Publications. I finished it a couple of days
ago, and wanted to say that it's damned good.
I dropped a note to McMillan about it and he replied saying
how autobiographical and true the novel was (Harrington's
uncle was president of Guatemala for a while in the 1980s)
and that it was "A FUCKING GREAT NOVEL." I've been thinking
about that the last couple of days. The book deserves a
rereading when I can focus more before I'd say it's that
good, but I will certainly say it's very goddamned fine and I
recommend it.
It's extremely noir, with shades of THE MALTESE FALCON, but
it's set in Guatemala a little bit in the future, I think,
and the lead is a newspaper reporter who gets into a whole
load of trouble. He's half American and half Guatemalan,
related to much of the ruling class of the country, and ends
up getting seriously involved in the country's politics. He
also gets into a very dangerous relationship with a woman,
and he's searching for lost treasure with an archaeologist.
He's headed for trouble a dozen different ways, and knows it,
but can't stop.
There are some really heartbreaking scenes and descriptions
in the book, some in flashbacks about the lead's mother and
others showing what life is like for the poor. Now, I don't
know the first thing about Guatemala--or didn't, because now
I feel like I know a bit--but Harrington sure does, and he
brings it all alive, from the jungles to the cities to the
corruption and the disastrous economy.
I especially recommend this as an example of what noir
writing can be like when it's not about the same old stuff.
This is a very political novel about Central America, not
about lowlife hoods in California or waking up next to a dead
blonde in a motel.
People on the list raved about DIA DE LOST MUERTOS (1997),
and after I read it I did too. RED JUNGLE doesn't have that
book's febrile insanity, because it's not that kind of story.
It's more mature, bigger in scope and duration, sometimes
quiet and intimate. It's good.
Bill
P.S. Someone on the list knows Harrington, I think--can you
drop me a note off the list? Thanks.
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 05 Feb 2005 EST