Book review-The River of Time-John Swain
A mixed review from the book club as is often the case. The majority opinion disliked the book particularly the perspective of the author whilst in its favour were the detailed descriptions of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge from one of the few english speaking eyewitnesses.
Why the author had actually bothered 20 years after his experience of this tragic period to write the book was a question asked by several. Did he genuinely feel that he had something new to add to a story which had been told many times already both in word and film or was it as was suggested by one was that this might fund his retirement expenses?
The principal objection expressed was the conceit and arrogance generally of war correspondents of the time(And now?).They were privileged observers being able to parachute in and out of events where the players themselves were stuck fighting each other to the death. The author as a character was disliked . His motives for being in Southeast Asia were questionable and his behaviour once he arrived there was ‘extremely offensive‘. ‘He seemed like a particularly shallow sort of character, his motives for being drawn to this part of the world seemed to revolve around attractive women and drinking/drugs‘… To visit the temples of Angkor and to savour the legendary beauty of its women‘.
At the same time there were numerous instances of “breathtaking sexism and racism throughout “ and and it was felt also that there were too many generalisations in the book : ‘violence as well as sensuous pleasure is intrinsic to the Indochinese character‘ and ‘violence was part of Cambodian character as much as the beauty of landscapes and women‘. “He made random observations which jumped from one to another”. “He seemed to be ‘addicted to the rush of war and compelled to report on this tragic period”
The discussion developed into an explanation of why journalists traditionally behaved this way. ‘How do you insulate yourself from such horrors ?’ The need for sex and drugs is a coping mechanism for the horrors that have been witnessed on the battlefield.
It was mentioned at this point how there was a strong resonance with events around the recent Oxfam scandal.
As well as these major flaws several disliked his writing style which was rather like a series of detached factual episodes without describing the raw emotions that would have been felt by the individual in this most tragic period of history. ‘ He was not passionate about himself he didn’t open up and engage the reader‘ It was felt that there were many instances where personal descriptions of the experiences of the individual were missing to fully describe the tragedy.
At the same time there was criticism for his love affair with Josephine and how he behaved with her in later years. Here as she makes contact with him from a refugee camp in Thailand was the opportunity for him to reconcile the past and his guilt of leaving her in Vietnam. But instead the addictive nature of war journalism pulls him away from her again to another assignment this time in Eritrea.‘He did nothing to demonstrate his love of Josephine when he could have’
And a final omission of the book was to not have portrayed the original French colonials-the Colons-in their true light. They were according to one member ‘shits who colluded with the Japanese during the Second World War”
On the positive side several readers enjoyed the book as an interesting but gruelling reminder of events in recent history. It was felt by one reader to be ‘an enjoyable light read with good evocation of place and people ‘. The description of events in the hotel in Phnom Penh during the tragic last days before the fall to the Khmer Rouge painted a vivid and detailed description. “The poignancy of decay of the city was well described”
The chapter on Thai Pirates and their parasitic exploitation of helpless Vietnamese refugees was remarked on. It was felt that this story had not generally been told at the time and the book was appreciated for this fact.
But that was about it!
All in all not a high scorer indeed the very reverse!
Chris W.
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