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Books » Dance Me on the Table by r.muir - Book Review
Dance Me on the Table by r.muir - Book Review
by r.muir
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Review by
 Richard Brown(2559) on 27/05/2004
This book is described as a ‘travelogue of the soul’ but for my money it would be more accurately described as a travelogue. It tells of the journey of an American man and an Indonesian woman, through several African countries. Their resources are limited but they do sometimes range beyond the normal backpacker territory.
The tales of hazardous journeys and insalubrious lodging places have their charms.
What did not appeal to me was the device of the story teller, or as it may be, his doppelganger, describing his own suicide and subsequent painful physical disintegration. There is a hint that the suffering is related to a lifetime of atheism (as contrasted with the Indonesian woman’s Muslim faith). I wanted to know where in the universe the account was being written and how it was being conveyed to the publisher.
There is some strong writing and the descriptions bring African scenes to vivid life. The book is most appealing in this aspect. The metaphysical moments, and the account of the core relationship, seemed to me to be more or less tacked on rather than an integral part of the novel.
There were irritations, for example with the quirky intermittent use of formal names (‘Mr. Lazarus’ and ‘Ms. Kertanegara’ for characters who are otherwise Sebastian and Yayuk) but a strong sense of place and time comes across. If you are interested in travel, especially the African variety, you will find much of value in this book. From new publishers Snow Books.
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