Eugene Wildman
Two short, sharp cracks, like gunshots, from outside. A car backfiring out on Silom Road. Or a tuk-tuk, a motorized rickshaw, bringing some tourist home, or another working girl from one of the bars. There were half a dozen of them living there. They came home in the middle of the night, sometimes bringing their pickups with them. They told them it was a special, safe hotel and charged them extra for the room. Except for Noi, who lived down the hall. She was the mistress of a police inspector who seemed not to mind the fact that she worked but would not allow her to have customers there. The noise the tuk-tuks made could raise the dead. This time it did the opposite, waking Todd with a start. He was dreaming about Hong Kong a lifetime ago, walking with Mei down Nathan Road, back to the hotel that was no longer there, whose name he could not even remember anymore. The image was gone now, he had lost her once more. He tossed impatiently, trying to fall asleep again, knowing that would not bring her back. The sounds moved off down the street, a muffled popping farther away. From behind the wall next to the bed he could make out the low murmur of voices, a couple beginning to make love.
This book, which I have not read and have no intention of reading, is a fine book. It is an exceptional book. It is one of the best books I have never read.
I do not know its subject. I have no idea whether the protagonists get what they want or are thwarted. Nor do I care really. I do know that this is an important book. It is important because it is out there.
What do we mean by out there? Out there means that it was made, backed, promoted. That it exists. That it has entered reality. What do we mean by entered reality? We mean nothing less than that it has altered the structure of the world. From now on the world will not be the same.
From now on is a sobering thought. From now on my life will be different because this book is in the world. This book is profoundly about that special place where art and life impinge on each other. From now on certain events will happen that would not otherwise have happened.
This book has changed my life. This book has made me a better person. This book has taught me, elevated me, extended me. This book has projected me into history. I owe everything to this book.
Anyone can write about what he has read. It takes talent and insight to write about what you haven't read. You have to know how to write a book you haven't read. You have to have a feel for a book you haven't read. If I had read that book, I wouldn't understand it half as well as I do.
This review is because I haven't read that book. This connection with you is because I wrote that review. Reader, the smartest thing I ever did was not let that book influence me in the slightest.