From Publishers Weekly
Using the same captivating narrative technique as in 1999's highly acclaimed Europa, Parks relates the dizzying tale of a man in crisis. The veteran British author employs a modified version of interior monologue to capture the crash and roar of the life of Daniel Savage, a judge in England's Crown Court circuit. Savage is a man in free fall. His turbulent 20-year marriage is again on the rocks, this time because of his brief affair with a 20-year-old Korean woman who served on one of his juries. Sarah, Savage's 18-year-old daughter, has decided to skip college and join a Christian sect. His best friend, Martin, has again fallen into the throes of a crippling depression, and Savage tries, but predictably fails, to beat back the amorous advances of Martin's wife. Parks, author of 16 works of fiction and nonfiction, sets all this up through Savage's frantic, at times hilarious narration. Adding to the dynamic is Savage's own perception of himself; he's a colored man of "obscurely mixed origin" who is wracked by an odd form of guilt because he never seems to pay the price for his personal and professional indiscretions. The somewhat scattered plot picks up pace when Savage is beaten into a coma by the husband and brothers of his Korean mistress. But that incident even works in his favor when the press, ignorant of the actual facts, makes him a hero. As will happen, however, Savage's luck runs out, and when it does, it goes all at once. Parks allows his plot to become a little long-winded at times, particularly during the novel's many court scenes. Yet his inventive prose, incisive social commentary and bizarre sense of scene and character reaffirm his standing as one of England's better stylists.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
Promoted young to the position of Crown Court Judge - because of his ability, because of the political convenience of promoting a man with coloured skin - it's time for Daniel Savage to settle down. Perhaps his marriage is happy enough after all. Teenage children require a father's attention. His career demands the most responsible behaviour. Day by day, Judge Savage presides over those whose double lives have been exposed. He must be above suspicion. But the passage from complexity to simplicity eludes him. Why does his daughter refuse to move to the spacious new house he and his wife have bought? Why does a young Korean woman keep phoning him to beg for help? As the most tangled lives are ironed out in court, Daniel Savage's own existence descends into a mess of violence and confusion. The solid English society, of which his public school background ironically makes him the representative, has fragmented into an incomprehensible public gallery where every face conceals a different culture. And these with whom we have the greatest intimacy are suddenly the most frighteningly mysterious. A hero by chance only to be overwhelmed with disgrace, Daniel Savage's attempt to keep some kind of grip on the world will keep the reader in a torment of tension to the last page. At the same time, the sense of recognition is overwhelming. This is the feverish disorientation of the modern city street.
