That Time in Malomba

by James Hamilton-Paterson

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0939149427
• ISBN13: 9780939149421
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Soho Press
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Read it With Mango!

This is an enchanting book about the ubiquitous misreadings between West and East. Here the twain is met, with both comic and tragic results.Satirizing the eclectic "industry" of religions and cults in the impoverished town of Malomba, the author effectively parodies the spiritual/physical healing quest of Mrs. Hemony, towing along her daughter, Zoe, and son, James. Zoe, in particular, is an appealing character (raised chiefly in an Italian commune, she is told by a representative of their entrepreneurial guru, "you'd be a sensation in California!") who drifts from her mother's well-intentioned control to the more secular/sexual appeals of Malomba. The book takes a few too many cheap shots at the Westerners, and Laki, the hotel's poorly-paid concierge, is written somewhat too broadly. Laki is eventually punished after his successful courting of the Hemodys, and this denouement seems contrived, as if to make up for the oh-so-loveable portrait previously drawn. However, enjoy it for the farce, and the sensual descriptions of the author's holy-city fantasy!

a gritty vision, elegantly written

Once again, the well-heeled deluded Americans make fools of themselves in the Third World, which in turn does its best to delude and fleece them. But the neatly crafted charm of the writing slips the message down painlessly, and the goofy innocence of the Americans and the jolly, cynical resilience of the downtrodden cast a peculiarly merry light over this dark comedy.