When Marco Polo visited Burma in 1298, he was dazzled by gold and silver temples at the heart of a thriving Asian empire. Seven centuries later, the gold is gone, the temples are in ruins, and the Burmese government manages to keep its economy afloat only through large-scale heroin trafficking. In this romantic thriller, Claudia is a bored young Englishwoman who wants to find out how far she can make herself go. The enigmatic Paul is oblivious to everything but his quest for revenge. Together they travel to a country where monks rub shoulders with opium traders, warlords debate philosophy, and enchantment goes hand-in-hand with repression. It's literally the far end of the world. What better place for two people who are intent, in their different ways, on making a journey to the far end of themselves?
ISBN: 1-84045-001-0
This is an entrancing and seductive story. Patricia has enticed the reader, as if induced by an opiate, into the atmosphere of a visit to Burma in the company of a strange and sinister crew. Close observation, accurate description, an unusual capacity to evoke smell, touch, taste, vision and sound, conjure the sense of being there, acting out the fantasy.
royc@clara.net |
|
|