New Books of Appeal to Ferry Commuters
New Books of Appeal to Ferry Commuters
By Patrick Burnson
Published: November, 2005
Fan-TanBy Marlon Brando and Donald Cammell
Edited by David Thomson
Knopf
$23.95
When Marlon Brando played his starring role as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront, his now-classic line was I coulda’ been a contender. And while this legendary actor went on to prove that he was every inch the champion on the stage and screen, his literary aspirations were largely unknown.
Until now, that is.
With the recent publication of Fan-Tan, Brando has exposed yet another dimension of his heroic ego and penchant for self-promotion. But there’s plenty of entertainment value here, too, and guilty pleasures that will appeal to today’s waterfront habitués.
Co-authored by screenwriter, Cammell, the louche setting is Hong Kong circa 1927. The Brando-like protagonist is Annie Doultry (named Anatole for Monsieur France, the novelist). He’s in a Hong Kong prison, trying to remain sane by competing in games of chance (including cockroach racing with other inmates), when the plot unfolds. On a whim, he saves the life of a Chinese prisoner, and Annie’s fortune takes a sudden turn.
As luck would have it, he prisoner’s employer happens to be Madame Lai Choi San. Beautiful, ruthless and shrewd, she is one of the most notorious gangsters in Asia. When Annie gets out of prison, Madame Lai thanks him with an offer of inconceivable wealth if he will join her in the biggest act of piracy the world has ever seen. Madame Lai is a seductive and powerful ally, but Annie is about to discover that she can be an even more powerful, and dangerous, enemy.
If the bygone cartoon strip, Terry & The Pirates, begins to resonate here, you are not far off course. This is a politically incorrect and delightful read that should be savored when you are offered the most enticing view of Alcatraz.
Melville: His World and Work
By Andrew Delbanco
Knopf
$30
If you are headed out to the open sea, you may prefer to take on this most recent study of a writer many consider to be the father of postmodern literature. And, because the writer spent much of his life at sea, away from any conventional study, biographers have had a hard time reconstructing his past and sources of inspiration. Melville left few letters and did not keep the kind of exhaustive journals and diaries other authors of destiny felt obliged to archive. Like Bartleby, his one great existential creation, Melville soldiered on, despite his lack of recognition.
By concentrating on the milieu of the New York waterfront of the 1840s, Delbonco brings us into the clamorous setting that Melville’s contemporaries knew and loved. The crush of humanity, and its sudden unpredictable surge of cruelty, largely informed the shape of his great narratives and outsized plots of good and evil.
After Moby Dick, Melville’s fortunes were dramatically reversed, but that did not keep him from continuing to write about deeply obsessive and destructive characters like Mr. Claggart in Billy Budd. The biographer brings a unique perspective as to why these tales still resonate.
New York Night
By Mark Caldwell
Simon & Schuster
$27.50
When the flickering lights of the City’s skyline come into view, ferry riders may wish to reflect on the nature of our own urban nightfall. The evocative study of New York speaks to all who have wandered the streets after-hours seeking another reality… another waterfront.
The Barbary Coast had little over the tawdry glamour of the Bowery, and history buffs will no doubt be amused by the author’s characterization of the Sporting Man. This particular type was bi-coastal long before the expression was coined, and could be spotted roaming about at dawn’s first light seeking quaint and unwholesome diversion on either waterfront.
