false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173451702m/290037.jpg 290037 7 Rupert Thomson has a solid reputation as a cult writer: his earlier books have garnered increasing acclaim without ever really propelling him into the authorial big time. Still, his 1998 novel, <I>Soft!</I>, marked a definite upswing in terms of recognition. And it would be a shame if <I>The Book of Revelation</I>, his sixth and latest, didn't continue this trend, given its level of psychological and aesthetic daring.<p> The narrator of Thomson's book is a dancer living in Amsterdam. One day he goes out to buy some cigarettes for his girlfriend--also a dancer--and is kidnapped and held for a period of time before being released. It would be unfair to give away too much more. But suffice it to say that each development adds an additional coordinate to what we might call the novel's emotional geography. Indeed, the Dutch metropolis seems to be a full participant in this intricate fiction: <blockquote> There was a sense in which the city had been trying to tell me something all along. <I>You'll never solve this case. You might as well forget it.</I> But I had not been listening, of course. Look at the map. It's all there, in a way. The whole story. </blockquote> At a time when so many writers are obsessed with trauma--particularly child abuse and its psychological fallout--Thomson chooses to explore the concept through an event that is both more and less sensational. The narrator's ordeal evokes the sort of highly ritualized bastinado that we encounter in, say, <I>Story of O</I>. Yet the author distances us from these events by switching from the first to the third person, a simple device that complicates and deepens the effect of the book as a whole.<p> Thomson's strange, disturbing tale asks profound questions about the burden of the past, especially of past events that set one apart from others. In this sense, <I>The Book of Revelation</I> chips away at the very notion of objectivity. How do we relate to others when we have experienced events that defy explanation or resolution? Perhaps such truths can be delivered only by (as it were) revelation. <I>--Burhan Tufail</I> 281388 1999 The Book of Revelation total:136|5:2|4:2|3:1|2:0|1:1| 136 492 179 21 4 0 false false Thu Oct 08 11:45:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 11:53:22 -0700 2009
First off, for all you guys who think this is a f...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 07:56:30 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 08:08:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 10:16:28 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 10:18:58 -0700 2009 The first half of The Book of Revelation would have earned 4 or 5 stars, had it ended there.
The second half, perhaps 2 stars.
The problem is that the first half of the book is a supercharged engine that takes off and leaves you hot and bothered (on several levels), much to you...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 19 20:11:01 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 20:29:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Oct 21 13:20:58 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 12:18:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 24 09:24:19 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 09:27:24 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 15:55:30 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 15:34:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Sep 02 08:48:10 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 08:48:19 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 08:27:06 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 12:29:10 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Dec 13 14:34:59 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 13 14:39:58 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat May 24 13:21:04 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 13:23:52 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Mar 20 08:09:36 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 20 08:09:36 -0700 2008 4 0 true false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Apr 25 16:09:51 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 25 20:23:35 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Thu Aug 07 12:45:37 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 12:48:43 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Tue Mar 04 12:18:29 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:14:42 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 06 12:27:40 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 10:52:06 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Wed Apr 25 20:35:13 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 29 17:44:49 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Jan 22 21:37:50 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 21:38:31 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Dec 07 09:11:37 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 07 09:15:18 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Wed Oct 22 10:06:48 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 10:07:12 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=290037