John Edgar Wideman plainly considers himself "an island entire unto himself". Foolish me, I interpreted the title of this book to mean that The Island in question was Martinique, and on that basis I bought the book to read on a flight to Fort de France. Even with nothing else to read but the in-flight shopping mag, I couldn't get past page 37 of this pretentious, self-indulgent, narcissistic tour of the hotel bedrooms of the Caribbean. I'll put myself at risk by confessing that I thought seriously about sky-jacking the plane to the nearest news stand. Sample:
"Silence as a counterpoint, counterweight to the fugue of many voices, many languages buzzing imperiously, incomprehensibly around you. Silence as an answer. A rejoinder to chaos."
A hundred sixty-five pages of such bombast! Think of it! Without even an in-flight Adam Sandler movie to take refuge in! |
The Island: Martinique (National Geographic Directions) Books In Print, Audio Books.