The only character in this book who has a name is Mitko, a
male prostitute in Sofia, Bulgaria. The
first-person narrator, an American teacher in Bulgaria, is unnamed, and the
other minor characters are known simply by their first initial. The plot—thin to say the least—mostly
involves the narrator’s relationship to Mitko, which starts out as purely
transactional and morphs into something else, at least for the narrator. What he seeks from Mitko is not exactly clear
to himself or to the reader, but his sexual attraction to Mitko overwhelms any
thoughts he has of denying Mitko’s constant requests for money. Mitko refers to his customers as friends, and
the central question is whether a transactional relationship can develop into a
friendship. Mitko’s decline from hale
and robust to sickly and pitiful is heartbreaking, but even more so is the
narrator’s relationship with his father.
Much of this book made me uncomfortable, and I’m not just talking about
the sex scenes. In particular, there’s a
shower scene that is particularly squirm-inducing. The content, however, is not
the only aspect of this book that made it difficult to read. Part II is forty-plus pages without a
paragraph break.
No comments:
Post a Comment