A Drink Called Paradise - A Novel (Hardcover, 1978. Corr. 7th Ed.)

Poet and novelist Svoboda (Cannibal, 1995) offers an oddly disjointed account of a young woman stranded on a tiny Pacific island recently contaminated by radioactive fallout. "All tourists think their island's far, but this island's really far." So far off the beaten path, in fact, that our narrator Clare isn't altogether sure that she'll ever be able to find her way home again. An advertising copywriter, Clare accompanied a film crew to a remote Pacific Rim island in order to shoot a TV commercial. With a bit of time on her hands - just why a copywriter would be needed on a television shoot is a good question never addressed - she decides to travel here and there on her own, and ends up on an even more remote island with very irregular boat service and few amenities. Peace and quiet are fine by her, but in short order Clare gets her fill of solitude and pines to leave again. The boat she plans to take, however, shoves off early in a sudden hurry, and everyone turns vague and noncommittal when she asks about the next one. Another boat finally pulls in, but it's flying the flag not of any country but of an international health organization. The passengers greet Clare, along with the others who are clambering aboard, with Geiger counters: there has been a nuclear test on a nearby island, and the fallout may have reached their apparent Eden. This comes as an unpleasant shock, of course, but even so, Clare's reaction is rather extreme: she jumps overboard and swims back to the island. There, she resumes her life of ennui among the locals and expats. Why? Another good (and unanswered) question. Clare apparently finds some peace in her confinement, although she doesn't succeed in communicating it - or anything else - especially well. Wonderfully written, though bafflingly obscure. Svoboda writes in a meditative style that seems incapable of containing a narrative, much less relating it. (Kirkus Reviews)

Clare, an L.A. ad executive, is marooned in the Marshall Islands, site of U.S. nuclear testing. Little by little, she discovers from the natives the dark side of this island paradise.. Clare, an L.A. ad executive, wraps up a South Seas photo shoot for a soft drink dubbed Paradise. Believing she has found paradise, she remains in the South Seas for some rest and relaxation. By virtue of a bureaucratic mix-up, she finds herself marooned in the Marshall Islands, site of United States nuclear testing from 1948 to 1958.Stranded and spooked, Clare looks to Harry, her fellow castaway, for solace, but Harry, who has by now accumulated a harem, has no patience for Clares growing fears. Barclay, an enigmatic islander, wont reveal anything either. It is the island women--Breasts for Three, Clam Hold, and Mouse Touch--who draw Clare, whom they call Vagina Mouth, into their circle and reveal the islands terrifying secrets. Clare finally departs, only to learn that she cannot escape the dreadful realities of the island or those of her own past. Sex and death haunt this new novel from Terese Svoboda (author of Cannibal). Clare, an L.A. ad executive, wraps up a South Seas commercial for a soft drink called Paradise and decides to remain in the Pacific for a well-earned vacation. By virtue of a bureaucratic mix-up, she finds herself stranded on one of the more remote South Pacific islands and slowly discovers that life there is not what shes hoped.Barclay, an enigmatic islander, cannot tell Clare when the next boat is coming, nor will he unravel the disturbing mysteries that pervade this so-called paradise. Why is her hostess, Ngarima, indifferent to the intruder who attempts to rape Clare? Why does Ngarimas son brave the sea in a homemade boat in a desperate attempt to escape the island? Why do the native women swarm Harry, her fellow castaway? And what has happened to the eerily misshapen boy who inhabits the lagoon?Clare seeks solace in her colleague Harry, but he plans to remain on the island and has little patience for her growing fears. Stranded and spooked, Clare digs herself into the sand and stares out over the sea, desperately scanning the horizon for a ship.It is the island women--Breasts for Three, Clam Hold, and Mouse Touch--who reveal a life force gone awry and the terrifying secrets that force Clare to confront what she herself has shut away forever.In this lyrical and understated novel, Svoboda evokes the wet, lush decay of an island inhabited by living ghosts, shaping their story through the eyes of an outsider struggling to hide from all she sees.

General

Imprint:	Counterpoint
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 1999
First published:	May 1999
Authors:	Terese Svoboda
Dimensions:	216 x 140 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	160
Edition:	1978. Corr. 7th Ed.
ISBN-13:	978-1-58243-001-0
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	1-58243-001-2
Barcode:	9781582430010

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