If you have read a number of Joan Didion novels, particularly
starting in the 1980s, she turns her attention progressively on our neighbors
in to the south, and American meddling in their internal affairs. This is certainly the case in The Last Thing He Wanted, which
chronicles the mishaps of a novice on the scene of international arms smuggling
on an unnamed Caribbean Island.
As many commentators have said, there are deep
shades of Graham Greene in this novel (and most of the other novels she has
written in this vein). For someone
moving through Didion’s oeuvre, there
is not anything new to stimulate.
If you are coming to Didion fresh, no doubt you are in for an
interesting ride. Didion had a terse
way of building narrative tension.
She moves back and forth in time
effortlessly, allowing the reader to see every nook and cranny of her created
world.
However, if you have read her a great deal, this world is a
repeat. Her concerns in this period are
rather narrow, and it comes across in this novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment