26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting if not as good as Thomson's previous work., February 28, 2000
`The Book of Revelation' is an interesting book if not as good as Thomson's previous work which is still an amazing accomplishment. The first half of the novel, while not as shocking as some have said, concerns the kidnapping of a male classical dancer and his subsequent sexual torture by three masked nude women. The second half of the book details his escape and subsequent soul-searching. The theme of the latter part of `The Book Of Revelation' is very reminiscent (to me) of a lot of Hermann Hesse's work. The only issue (and this is, admittedly, rather petty) I had is that Rupert Thomson's brilliant descriptions that were so prevalent in his fantastic `The Insult' and `Dreams of Leaving' aren't as abundant. I frequently stopped and admired the analogies and descriptions in those two books. If you haven't read either `Dreams Of Leaving' (which you'll have to track down in a used bookstore in the U.S. - or an auction site - since it's not currently being published here) or `The Insult', I'd recommend those first. However, if you have already read and enjoyed those, certainly read `The Book Of Revelation.'
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow., February 22, 2000
I finished this book in 1 1/2 days. It's very powerful and moving. Thomson has a nice style, and the subject matter is both shocking (the first half) and universal (the second half). Don't be put off by the subject matter...the story is about so much more than "sex".
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a tour de force, January 10, 2001
Rupert Thomson (1955) has written a fascinating and compelling sixth novel, and once you start reading 'The Book of Revelation', it's difficult to put the book down. A nameless 30-year old english dancer/choreographer lives and works in Amsterdam. He has a succesful career and for some years he's been living happily with his nice girlfriend Brigitte, also a dancer. In his life there are no real troubles, until... everything changes forever. He's abducted in Amsterdam by three cloaked and hooded women, who hold him captive and chained naked to the floor of an anonymous white empty room for eighteen days. For no apparent reason. During his captivity the only option there for him is total submission. The young women, presumably of his own age, appear often naked -though always hooded- to him. They have their way and play all kinds of games with him, mostly for their sexual pleasure. When the women's demands become more fierce, total dehumanisation and humiliation follows. The man is defenseless against this depraved performance of power, domination and desire. The ordeal he's subjected to includes rape and even brutal mutilation. For the reader this is a shocking nightmare as well.
The captivity-part of the book reminded me of Pascal Bruckner's bizarre and weird, but brilliant novel 'les voleurs de beauté' (1997), and of two films where a similar sort of events takes place: Pasolini's `Salo: the 120 days of Sodom' (1975) and Michael Haneke's `Funny Games' (1998). What happens there is that you're forced to witness extreme atrocities, while you know there will be no escape from these brutal violations of human dignity. And of course, as a `witness', it makes you sick, you feel horrible. It's the same with Thomson's `Book of revelation', with one big difference, ... a relief. The man regains his freedom. After eighteen days the women all of a sudden decide to release him.
The book is really about what follows then. Of course, after his release he's not really free. He will carry the horrible events he endured in captivity for the rest of his life, probably without ever knowing the identity of his torturers. In a brilliant way Thomson manages to describe the psychological process that accompanies the quest that now lies ahead of this deeply wounded man. His life-after looks like an endless re-evaluation. How to live with yourself, with these scars, how to deal with your sexuality, with the people around you, and how to put your life in some sort of right track again... Facing all these problems the man begins a search for the women who made a ruin of his life. A search that will also bring his innermost self to the fore, in a way he never could have imagined.
The outline and structure of the novel is well balanced, and the shifting of perspective, using the first person (`I'-form) and third person (`he'-form) alternately in different sections of the novel, works fine and efficient. I read all Thomson's novels and one of his best writing skills throughout his work is the use of analogies. In `The Book of Revelation' display of that skill may not be as abundant as in `The five gates of hell' and `The insult' -his most mesmerizing and intoxicating novels- but the outline and the psychological development of the main character is as good as ever. And, what's more, in `The Book of Revelation' Thomson reveals a deep wisdom to everyone of us about the essences of life, concerning relationships, sexuality, human dignity and freedom. A remarkable achievement, and taking into account the difficult subject Thomson is dealing with here, I consider `The Book of Revelation' a succesful `tour de force'. In an oeuvre that's far from complete I hope.
NB: also recommended: Pascal Bruckner - les voleurs de beauté (Grasset et Fasquelle, 1997) I read this brilliant French novel -overlapping Thomson's 'Book of Revelation' in theme and mood- in dutch translation, titled 'De dieven van de schoonheid' (De Bezige Bij, 1998)
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