Word: theroux
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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SAINT JACK by PAUL THEROUX 247 pages. Houghton Mifflin...
...whole, pimping probably should have as little to say for itself as possible, but Paul Theroux's newest novel makes a provocative case to the contrary. Jack Flowers, an overage American drifter beached in Singapore, tells the tale: the ribald apologia of a do-gooder who makes vice the arena of his somewhat special virtue. By pandering to other people's passions, Jack figures, he has saved "many fellers from harm and many girls from brutes." As for the act itself. Jack is old-fashioned enough to assume that everyone can agree on its proper dimensions...
...tastes change, even in the Singapore of the '60s. Jack discovers that exhibitionism, sadism and much, much more are in demand. When he refuses to pander to such tastes, he feels the first flush of sainthood. Theroux's title is teasingly ambiguous. Is it merely an ironic claim for Jack or a portentous comment on the corruption of the modern world? The book is clever, but its consistent facetiousness allows the author to avoid facing a basic fact: however one chooses to view it, in pimping there is always one party who gets a raw deal...