It is clear from the first page that this book set in the 19th century is a Picaresque novel, the story of a scoundrel in various pursuits. We learn soon after that he is also a liar, a seducer, and a sharp bargainer. However, he meets his match several times when he decides to get rich from the opium trade. This author was compared to a cross between P. G. Wodehouse and Ian Fleming. The hero Karli is almost totally amoral as he works his way around the world by ship, carriage and on foot. There pirates, mutinies, storms, and interactions with natives. The book was written in 1978 and it is absolutely non-PC, as the hero's descriptions of women, the Chinese, the Africans, and others are offensive - but funny.
The book was written in 1978 and it is absolutely non-PC, as the hero's descriptions of women, the Chinese, the Africans, and others are offensive - but funny.