William Harrison (1)Besprekingen

Interesting story

In 1917, in the red light district Storyville, New Orleans, the prostitute Hattie lives with her twelve year-old daughter Violet in the fancy brothel of Madame Nell, where she works. Photographer Ernest J. Bellocq has an attraction to Hallie and Violet and he is an habitué of the whorehouse. One day, Madame Nell auctions Violet's virginity and the winner pays the fortune of US$ 400 to spend the night with the girl. Then Hattie marries a wealthy client and moves to Saint Louis, leaving Violet in the brothel alone. Violet decides to marry Bellocq and she moves to his house. Until the day that Hattie, who has overcome her past, comes to Bellocq's house with the intention to take Violet with her.

Richard Francis Burton was a legendary adventurer who also had a reputation for being a great lover. John Hanning Speke also had a reputation for being an adventurer and a lover, albeit of a different kind. When they first met, Speke needed Burton in order to get to Africa. Luckily, Burton was already going that way. Burton's mission in Somaliland was in four parts:

1. Discourage slavery


2. Establish a camp for later use


3. Search for gold


4. "Examine" the women to study their sexual practices

As with any expedition into the unknown, Burton and Speke encounter many trials and tribulations. More often than not, their equipment and supplies were either being broken or getting lost. Crews and guides were constantly deserting them. It didn't help that Burton and Speke couldn't be more different from one another when it came down to leading the expeditions. Burton prided himself on his intellect, especially when it came to native languages across the regions. (He would go on to translate Arabian Nights and The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana.) He had an understanding of the necessity of breaking down language barriers. Instead of brains, Speke valued his brawn, his hunting capabilities and his sheer physical strength. While Burton sought the company of many different beautiful women, Speke wouldn't turn away a pretty boy. Their differences soon drove them apart and made them fierce rivals. In the end, it was Speke who discovered the source of the Nile but because he lacked the scientific evidence to explain how this came to be he was ridiculed and almost discredited. Richard Burton became faithful to one woman and became an anthropologist.

I first read this book in the 90s, and it was definitely worth a second reading. Great novelization of the relationship between John Hanning Speke and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the famous 19th century African explorers. They are the British pair who are credited with finding Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, and this book covers their harrowing journey and the strained, combative relationship afterwards. This book lead me to read other books about the fascinating Burton, but I know little about Speke, so I do not know if the author is correct in his portrayal of Speke as unbalanced and a closeted homosexual / pedophile. Frankly I don’t like what I’ve read of Speke, and am perfectly willing to believe the author’s interpretation of his death as a suicide on the eve of his public debate with Burton where his spurious claims were sure to lead to massive public humiliation in the scientific community.

There are loads of books out there about Burton, one I read and enjoyed was “Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton” by Edward Rice. For some Burton “light” you may enjoy Philip Jose Farmer’s “Riverworld” series, where Burton is the protagonist in a science fiction romp or the romance novel “The Duchess” by Jude Deveraux, where she uses Burton as the model for her protagonist Capt. Frank Baker.

Or you can watch the movie they made of this book starring Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke, I really enjoyed it too.

One may be excused for expecting a novel, or at the very least a group of stories based around the themes explored in the movie Rollerball? Corrupt corporations exploiting retired athletes, abuse of power, money driven desires and perhaps a moral conclusion to societies blood lust?
However, you will be disappointed if that is so; what you have here is an eclectic collection of short stories and musings which have nothing whatsoever to do with the theme on the front cover; apart from Roller Ball Murder, and even that story spans less than 20 pages!

Here is a run-down of all the stories within the book:

The Warrior A mercenary soldier longs for the thrill of battle that his civilian family life in the Spanish hills just cannot provide. One day a film festival on the beach provides the necessary fodder for a thousand strong massacre which can release him from his monotony and force him to move on. And so he plans the assault in meticulous detail.
1/10

The Hermit A stranger takes up residency at an abandoned lodge eight miles from the nearest settlement in the wilds of Montana. In winter his isolation is total till the following spring when he resumes his weekly collection from the grocery store in town. His solitude sparks the interest of the equally lonely grocery store owner who attempts to reach out to the old hermit with the odd gift of books and magazines and even a puppy in one of his weekly provision boxes, but his attempts at friendship are ignored. Who is the hermit and what secrets does he hide?
4/10

Down the Blue Hole Homer Bogardus AKA Mr. Mystic is a wizard (of sorts); in Poplar Bluff, Missouri at least he is not alone. But, all his powers bring him no happiness; his love life is empty and he tires of the endless stream of sceptics who he is expected to entertain with his 'magic'. Could the 'Blue Hole', a void in which he sometimes disappears into, provide the ultimate solution to his lonely existence?
1.5/10

Eating it Young Willie is tutored in the sensual art of 'taste' by his erotically inclined Auntie Drew; and the two of them go on an orgy of destruction in order to satisfy their lust for experiencing new and exotic flavours.
9.5/10

The Pinball Machines During the depression, a wealthy local businessman, one day, offers a Methodist barber and his son the opportunity to inherit and run a second hand Pinball business at no cost to himself. The gift although genuine places stress on the whole family as their values and lifestyle is threatened.
5.5/10

Roller Ball Murder as narrated by one of it's top ranking player Jonathan E himself is a violent ever-changing sport which by the early twenty-first century has even replaced American football and the European World Cup.
A twenty pound ball spins round the track, fifty yards long, at three hundred miles an hour smashing into foot players, players on skates and the odd few on heavy motorbikes.
Two teams battle it out in a game of few rules and where death does not even stop play.
This is the most exciting sport on the planet - Heck! its the only sport on the planet.
But Jonathan is becoming disillusioned with the all powerful corporations which now run everything. He has riches and fame; but, in a world where the finer things in life such as the arts, books, even cinema is no longer generally available to the public he is starting to question the meaning of his own life.
Is there anything beyond Rollerball?
8.5/10

The Blurb King The Blurb King is Harry Neal and he has made his fortune selling 'blurbs' - those four or five line quotes you find on book covers and film posters everywhere. He will trade blurbs with rich and poor famous and the unknown. Soon everyone across the entire country will have their own blurb and their own claim to fame and Harry will be sitting in the middle raking it all in.
1/10

A Cook's Tale A big Swedish cook working in the hospital kitchens befriends a washer-up girl at an emotional period in her life, and the two embark on an affair in order to get away from their own life stresses. One day one of their lives sorts itself out and the relationship draws to a close, but not before one final confrontation at the girls leaving party where emotions come to their inevitable climax.
6/10

The Arsons of Desire A Chicago fire fighter wrestles with his demons. Only his own Captain seems to have any idea of what he is going through. Between them both they try to reason the unreasonable.
6.5/10

The Good Ship Erasmus One man seizes the opportunity to make money from passengers attending a 'Stop Smoking' seminar on board a cruise ship, by supplying the weak and vulnerable with nicotine at grossly inflated prices, whilst avoiding the suspicions of the crew and recruiting allies along the way.
3.5/10

Under the House Johnny Breck knew what women wanted; and his profession as a plumber allowed him to access their homes during the day when their menfolk were away. Then he would give it to them!
But these modern girls he just couldn't fathom. They wore less but seemed to know more?
So, one evening he takes it onto himself to find out just how much? Things start off great, better than. A whole house full of beautiful girls half naked and playing with him from room to room. Then one teases him away from the crowd and into the basement under the house and locks the door!
4.5/10

Nirvana, Götterdämmerung, and the shot put I really liked the characterisation in this story about Toby Grogan the misunderstood giant who talks to his shot put about all his problems: a lousy vertebra, various social problems, a mild case of athlete's foot, an overbearing mother, and no sex life. Coach Fain does not help much. But the big man reads something about Zen concentration in an article on a plane trip which alters his life and his way of thinking and gives him the will to make bigger changes in his own life - not always ones that suit the Olympic team necessarily. As with many of Harrison's early stories it does not really go anywhere, but I attached to Toby Grogan and liked him.
7/10

Weatherman: A Theological Narrative The story of Mr. Pollux - lonely old (progressively delusional) serviceman or omnipotent being capable of summoning up vast storms at will? The only way to determine this is by experimentation. And so aloft his weather tower he conducts an orchestra of biblical destruction upon the Earth.
2/10

Conclusion:

So, there you have it; one or two good reads, some interesting ideas too; but frustratingly few of these are ever fully developed and many of the stories seem to finish prematurely or just fall flat with nowhere else to go.

Like many other readers, I would have preferred to find myself immersed in the barbaric corporate world of the future where 'Wars will not be fought - they will be played out on the arena of Rollerball'.

A missed opportunity for a brilliant concept that, like many of the stories in this book, was never fully exploited.½