A decent look at street level Cambodia in the 1990s and a little little history. ( )

After Thomas Kohnstamm's unenjoyable Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?, I was prepared for even worse fare from Bilboa. I was pleasantly surprised to find that much of Off the Rails in Phnom Penh was interesting and engaging. This is not to say that the reader does not have to wade through long passages in which Bilboa experiences or feigns astonishment that drug abusers with poor work ethics and social skills might possibly have sex with underaged prostitutes and engage in other antisocial activities. This would have been fine except that Bilboa feels the need to quote these people and regale the reader with their repetitive exploits. Had he not, and instead summarized this content, this could have been an excellent book; as it stands, portions of the book are excellent and thought-provoking, but sandwiched between rather repetitive and offensive content that is neither gripping nor shocking, but merely tedious and annoying. Bilboa has a good point to make about how the bizarre lifestyles of some of his expatriate friends mirror the absurdity of life in Cambodia in the 1990s. This would be a more striking point if his friends' behavior weren't, in fact, typical of a certain segment of travelers and expats who seem to think that if they are not in their own country, and they have money or power, anything goes. That's not bohemianism or authenticity, it's just colonialism, and it's no less objectionable for being enacted by individuals than by governments.

There are sections good enough to teach with, but I can't because of the level of sexual exploitation narrated and the obscenity of the language. I would use excerpts to illustrate a lecture point, and may yet. Unfortunately, my copy was one of several I've recently bought online from Powells that are too mildewed* to put on a shelf without risking damage to my other books, so after reading it (stored in a plastic bag when not use), I have to discard it.

*Powells has been nothing but helpful and apologetic, which matters, too. ( )