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Pangamonium

by Zanesh Catkin (Goodreads Author)

4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 · rating details · 11 ratings · 7 reviews

Francis is a journalist looking for a big story in the tiny Asian kingdom of Panga. He finds himself attempting to liberate child slaves making sex toys for the West. Toss in an African pilgrim named Easter on a quest to find his grandfather’s grave filled with pirate gold, a military regime oppressing the citizens of Panga, and a Bollywood romance — pandemonium ensues.

Paperback, 288 pages

Published July 20th 2012 by MidnightSun Publishing

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Aug 13, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

05/08 spent the morning in Panga - not an easy place to leave once you're there!
09/08 still in Panga and coming up for air - this travelogue is action-packed! Think Boys' Own Adventure meets Don Quixote and Gulliver's Travels, with a healthy dash of 21st sensibility and pop culture heritage to add spice. Will they find the hidden treasure? Which one will get the girl? Will the spaz get out of the country alive? Why can't I put all my professional commitments on hold and read on until I find out?...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 30, 2013 Tar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review copy was kindly provided by Author Zanesh Catkin and I can't believe how fortuitous it was for me to join Goodreads at this time!

Now for the review -
After my first glance at the name of the book, I had to start over again, carefully, ticking every letter off in my head to construct a known word. I failed to do that but realized the name itself alluded to some chaos lurking inside the pages. The next eyebrow raise came when I read the writer's biography about hiding in the attics; I read t...more Review copy was kindly provided by Author Zanesh Catkin and I can't believe how fortuitous it was for me to join Goodreads at this time!

Now for the review -
After my first glance at the name of the book, I had to start over again, carefully, ticking every letter off in my head to construct a known word. I failed to do that but realized the name itself alluded to some chaos lurking inside the pages. The next eyebrow raise came when I read the writer's biography about hiding in the attics; I read the entire book with exactly that kind of astonishment.

"Pangamonium" is a book difficult to put down once you start. The adventure is simply that engrossing. There isn't much room for character development, with the outrageously comical situations and the bickering between Francis and Easter, but over the course I got to know each of them better.

Francis Germaine, an American expat from Australia - freelance journalist by trade, welcomes us into his experience in first person narrative that carries on for most of the book. He has travelled "to get lost" (his words), in Panga, an Asian country ruled by a malevolent dictator. Before crossing the local immigration authority he is interrupted by an African person by the name of Easter, and right after this everything starts to go wrong. Instead of a leisurely tour through some obscure (not to mention fictional) country, we launch into a treasure hunt with the two. Like I said, the book is filled with eyebrow-raising moments, ones that come with chuckles! While Francis navigates us through their days in Panga, we also meet a beautiful librarian and a chivalrous soldier who carry wisdom, courage, and sensitivity deep set in their ideals, as per the honourable Pangan custom. The characters meet as hints about their involvements in each other's lives are traced. Francis describes customs of Panga as he makes references to art and literature, sometimes masked, which makes you question the fact in the fiction but ultimately accept it - "May be Panga is like that. I haven't been there, how would I know?"

The alternate part of the book jabs at consumerism, exploitation of the poor by higher authority, third world corruption, and cheap labour in the form of children. The book doesn't try to hype up an awareness of all the wickedness instead merely puts them in front of the reader. There is enough material to make you halt and think about certain issues. The situations are more often comic but it does not downplay the other voices and yes it is difficult to put this book down! I know, I tried.

So there it is, both funny and thought-provoking; with a colourful set of characters and a good number of chase scenes!(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Grady rated it 4 of 5 stars

An unusually well crafted tale of Insanity that rings many true bells!

If we are to believe the brief biographical data on this author, then this is what we get: `Zanesh Catkin was horribly disfigured in a childhood accident; as a result he spent his early life hidden in attics. He was taken in by a kind family from Minnesota, who offered a loving home and some plastic surgery. Later, they moved to Australia and the confusion really set in.' Is that true, or is this just another extension of one...more

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Aug 19, 2012 This Charming Mum rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was with an open mind that I descended into the African kingdom of Panga, where our journalist hero Francis is embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. As a foreigner (or a spazokaildehappama in the local language – meaning ‘fortunately not one of my relatives’), Francis attracts suspicion and scrutiny wherever he goes. Border crossings, for foreign journalists, are especially tedious. Getting caught with a suitcase full of vibrators is unlikely to make your immigration interrogation any eas...more

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Dec 04, 2012 G.d. Brennan rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Pangamonium" reminds me of the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road-to" movies. Those were fun little jaunts, heavy on the slapstick, with a fair amount of charm. There was always a plot of sorts, but the plot was little more than scenery, a backdrop, something to keep us distracted between the gags. And there were characters, but always of a type. The good guys were pretty good, but not above a little benign mischief if it got them out of a jam. And the bad guys were really bad, so there was never any d...more "Pangamonium" reminds me of the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road-to" movies. Those were fun little jaunts, heavy on the slapstick, with a fair amount of charm. There was always a plot of sorts, but the plot was little more than scenery, a backdrop, something to keep us distracted between the gags. And there were characters, but always of a type. The good guys were pretty good, but not above a little benign mischief if it got them out of a jam. And the bad guys were really bad, so there was never any doubt as to who was who. Everything's amiable and aimless, fairly fun and funny; you can take it or leave it, and you won't miss it if you leave it, but you'll enjoy it if you take it.

Zanesh Catkin's like-minded work revolves around Frances Germaine, a traveler who ends up in Panga, a fictitious country which seems to be somewhere in Central Asia. He ends up accompanying a man named Easter as they search for Easter's grandfather's buried treasure, about which they only have a single dying last word as a clue: Dubesur. Along the way, they run afoul of the military, which is apparently facilitating the exploitation of orphan children to help Westerners manufacture sex toys cheaply in sweat shops. I'm a little vague about the details beyond that, and it's entirely possible that I got some of them wrong; Catkin stretches it all out a bit so it ends up a little thinner and less memorable than it should have been.

And that's a shame, because Catkin's obviously a talented writer, and there's plenty to enjoy here. Describing his traveling companion, for instance, Catkin-as-Germaine notes that Easter carried a Bible to smuggle things. "The book was hollowed out to hold a pistol, diamonds, drugs, money or any other item not normally found there," Catkin writes. "He had already read it and had more need of the cover than the contents." And later on, while trying to give blood, Germaine muses that perhaps his blood would be "of an unknown, useless type--not B Negative or O Positive but Qwerty--of use only when operating on journos. Instructions: Distil before use." While the plot's nothing to write home about (or leave home for), there are other reasons to take this trip besides the treasure at the end; Catkin's a funny guy who loves a clever turn of phrase, and if that's what you're looking for in a travelling companion, it's worth tagging along.(less)

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Dec 23, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-lit, humour, by-gr-friends, reviewed, 2012

Review copy kindly provided by author and GR friend, Zanesh Catkin.

Some travel to find themselves-—I was travelling to get lost. Panga seemed a perfect place to start.

Thus begins what could be an idyllic travelogue, an account of travels in an exotic foreign land whose inhabitants have quaint and curious customs.

It could be--but it isn't.

American travelling correspondent Francis Germaine isn't even through customs and he's already in trouble. For an eccentric African by the name of Easter has...more Review copy kindly provided by author and GR friend, Zanesh Catkin.

Some travel to find themselves-—I was travelling to get lost. Panga seemed a perfect place to start.

Thus begins what could be an idyllic travelogue, an account of travels in an exotic foreign land whose inhabitants have quaint and curious customs.

It could be--but it isn't.

American travelling correspondent Francis Germaine isn't even through customs and he's already in trouble. For an eccentric African by the name of Easter has latched on to him and won't leave him in peace. And no sooner does the customs official open his suitcase, then he realizes it isn't his. Because the suitcase under examination is filled with... well, perhaps this isn't the place to go into details. But, trust me, it's something totally outrageous. So outrageous, in fact, that I wondered what kind of book I'd gotten myself tangled up with.

Follow Francis and Easter as they go in search of answers to the questions that are plaguing them. The journalist wants his suitcase back. And the African is trying to find the burial site of his ancestor, a pirate captain... What's that you say? Well why not? It worked in Blazing Saddles! No wait, that's wrong--he was a sheriff. But there is a Douglas Fairbanks film called The Black Pirate, although it doesn't have anything to do with this story.

In a plot that vaguely resembles an Indiana Jones film--why am I constantly mentioning movies?--Francis and Easter bumble their way through Pangan society, spreading um, Pangamonium wherever they go. In their search for clues, they encounter crime lords, a lovely librarian, a mysterious map, a love-starved soldier and a village without children. Unexpectedly they discover that some people conceal within themselves the worst kind of evil while others are overflowing with the milk of human kindness.

This novel contains much that is whimsical--including the bibliography. But good satire is all about social and/or political commentary, as I'm sure you'll agree. And that's true here as well. This novel discusses such things as capitalism, third world corruption and military coups. But there are also more positive things such as the importance of cross-cultural communication, friendship and trust.(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Aug 11, 2012 Chris Tugwell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Francis is arrested at the Pangan border, not carrying drugs or weapons, but sex toys. This opening gives you some idea of the comic twists this novel offers. Part spy thriller, part modern-day quest this is a book with a deep heart too. And if you find yourself reading this at an airport; it's OK to laugh out loud. A genuinely good read.

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Apr 22, 2013 Iroulito91 marked it as to-read

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Shelves: quitted

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Dec 01, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 09, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Oct 05, 2012 Shannon (Giraffe Days) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: satire, fiction, humour, review-copy, e-book

Sep 30, 2012 Margaret marked it as to-read

Shelves: must-read, k3

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Shelves: fast-paced

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Jul 23, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Modern Good Reads: A Read For Review Offer: Pangamonium, by Zanesh Catkin	6	29	Apr 26, 2013 04:10pm
Aussie Readers: Launch of new Aussie comic novel	7	18	Oct 30, 2012 07:33pm
Aussie Readers: Giveaway 5 free copies of Pangamonium-closes 15/8	2	13	Jul 28, 2012 04:59pm
Goodreads Authors...: Launching Pangamonium	1	5	Jul 15, 2012 01:42am
Goodreads Authors...: Launching Pangamonium	1	3	Jul 15, 2012 01:33am
The Humour Club: Launching Pangamonium	1	3	Jul 15, 2012 01:23am
Quirky humour: Launching Pangamonium	1	7	Jul 15, 2012 12:51am

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About Zanesh Catkin

Zanesh Catkin was horribly disfigured in a childhood accident; as a result he lived much of his life hidden in attics. He was taken in by a kind family from Minnesota, who offered a loving home and some plastic surgery. Later, they moved to Australia and the confusion really set in.

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