The Java Man

by Jamie James

For more than a hundred years, nothing has changed at Thistlethwaite, a gloomy old mansion in rural northwest England that shelters a society of poets and scholars with lots of money at their disposal, but little common sense.Then a mysterious stranger, a poet from Java who has won a fellowship from the society, arrives in their midst.Noor brings with him healing potions, a magic kris, and a bawdy ancient epic fascinating glimpses of a world utterly unknown to the innocent inhabitants of Thistlethwaite. One by one they fall under Noors spell, especially Tildy, the societys 60-year-old director who thought she had learned to live without love. When a scandal threatens to shut down Thistlethwaite forever, Noor comes to the rescue, leading a merry chase that careers from a ruined castle in the wilds of England to the luxurious watering holes of Singapore to a chaotic household in Jogjakarta.Acerbic, often hilarious satire in the tradition of Evelyn Waugh and Jonathan Franzen, The Java Man tells the story of Noor, a picaresque Indonesian poet who comes to England on a fellowship, where he wreaks emotional havoc among the inhabitants of a secluded country village. The book is set in present-day England, Singapore, and Indonesia.

401 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Shirley Metelmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story..well written ..Easy holiday reading

[Tika W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thing from this book is the diction. I like the time-setting which is historical and the way Jamie James let the plot flow word by word. Unlike other American others, Jamie loves long sentences. Fortunately, they don't disrupt the joy of reading his book. =)