Firstly, a disclaimer, I’m a prude. Even as a teenager I was a goody-two-shoes who was uninterested in what anyone was doing in regards to bedroom activity. Today, I continue to ignore the Fifty Shades of Gray phenomena. I haven’t even been able to bring myself to read The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell, which I know will be beautifully written but do I really want to follow the adventures of a newly wed’s sexual fantasies?So when I read the background of Fishing for Tigers I deleted it from my “to be read” list because it involved an affair between a 35 year-old woman and an 18 year-old boy. All the child protection lectures from my teaching degree came rushing back and I could not see a way to overcome that training. She’s an adult, he is essentially still a child, OK just finished school, about to enter the grown up world, but still in that murky place between child/adult.
I ended up reading the book because it was selected for the ABC Mid North Coast Book Club. I guess that’s part of the fun of a book club it forces you into territory you wouldn’t necessarily go.
The book follows Mischa a woman escaping from a violent marriage by reinventing herself in the anonymity of steamy Hanoi. When Cal the Vietnamese-Australian son of one of her friends arrives to visit Mischa falls for his youthful idealism and the two embark on a clandestine relationship.
The book creates a beautifully exotic sense of place. The descriptions of the chaotic streets of Hanoi, the tropical heat, the sights and smells are evocative and moving.
The setting provides a powerful catalyst to the storyline. The promiscuous expat friends, the older men chasing the beautiful young Vietnamese women, the role of power and money in sexual relationships, the brothels. This subtext would have been far less intense if the novel had been set in the suburban middle-class of a Western city.
It is a credit to Maguire’s characterisation that I managed to overcome my dislike of the affair to feel some sympathy for both Mischa and Cal. Although, I was left wondering if I would have been able to do so had Cal’s mother been Mischa’s friend, not his father? The thought of a woman sleeping with another woman’s child is in some way even more disturbing?
The story kept my interest all the way through, there were many issues raised through it’s narrative. Cal’s search for identity, the role of family, the passing of time and opportunities missed, sexual politics.
All in all, a beautifully written novel with an engaging storyline.Hell, I even managed to survive a couple of sex scenes!
Thanks for your interesting take on this novel. I read it because of my book group, too, and was surprised when several members mentioned that they wouldn’t have picked it up if it hadn’t been a book group choice, because of the back cover copy mentioning the affair. (I didn’t read it!)
I agree – it’s beautifully written and evokes a strong sense of place. Your sense of a possible difference in feeling between sleeping with a male friend’s son and a female friend’s son is very intriguing. I’ll have to think more on that.
Thank you for stopping by – love your review of the same book – much more in depth than mine! I’m glad to hear other member’s of your book club had the same concerns as me, maybe I’m not a complete fuddy duddy after all!
I just finished commenting on your comment when I received this! Thank you.
I love your website. I haven’t seen the “prompt” to add my own recent posts on other blogs. As I’d also recently reviewed Fishing For Tigers, I guessed you’d be interested. It’s a useful gagdet for creating conversations.
Which platform do you use to power your blog? (Or is it custom?)
My blog is on wordpress.org (not wordpress.com). It’s a custom design. The Comment Luv is a plug in that you can use on wp.org. (Although I couldn’t get it to work until I disabled the Jetpack comments). I like that comment luv helps to give everyone with a blog a little bit of publicity.
Hi Janine – Thanks. I never realised until now there was a difference between WP.org and WP.com. Yours is a beautiful design, and the plug-in is a great idea.
I’m busy compiling a database of reviews for the new AWW site (it’ll be shifting to WP.com soon). I realise you’ve reviewed quite a few books for the challenge, but FFT is the only one of them I’ve read. I hope to get back and comment on the others when I’ve worked my way through my “to be read” pile. Floundering is one I have on my list.