Pendrek Drome is a long novel that deals in part with the question of violence. It's hero is an ageless young man who is used to "droming" his way around the universe via sleep and drugs. Because he is not from this world the book is written in a language other than English. Although similar to English, the language is a mix of Germanic and Slavic words and grammar. Still, the book is intended for the English speaking reader. The aim of the book is largely a linguistic one. On one level the reader learns this foreign language as he or she reads the book. This initial linguistic confusion is further reflected in the position of the protagonist who has also just entered a strange world as the tale opens. It is into our world that he has stepped and, not knowing the language or the workings of this world, he must figure out how to get what is needed; eten (food), likwids(drink), narkos(drugs), and loll(fun) The hero, or anti hero, hails from a very violent world where disputes are settled mostly with knives and other weapons. He feels that he is part of a larger struggle involving those who work for evil and people, himself being one, who work for the will of God. In this world he finds people of his kind and they celebrate in hedonistic art clubs where they have sex, take drugs and listen to strange rock music. These events are also underground as they must be given the existence of those who wish to stop them; namely the police and rival gangs. Huxley, the protagonist and narrator, comes to associate with two subversive and radical artists named Oliver and Azimov and with them they create their own festival space. Huxley also works as protector of these events and in the course of this role comes to "smash" many who would do evil to these occasions. Then there is the war over the drug trade in which, because of financial need, Huxley participates. He is also a studious fellow and has versed himself in philosophy and poetry. There are no novels from where he is from and he learns this literary form after he comes to this part of the universe. The novel is set in an imaginary land somewhere between present day Holland and the islands of Great Britain. English is the language of use in this country and Huxley finds himself in its capital of Stardamus - a city clearly based on the Dutch Amsterdam. The tale is written from within the confines of a prison and it covers the period from when Huxley arrived in this "vereld"(world) to the moments before his torture and execution. Indeed some of Huxley's actions are suspect no matter how convincingly he tries to justify them. He has been put in jail for a number of offences including vandalism, theft, and murder. Perhaps his actions are justified in light of the kind of universes that he has lived through. In the world of his own mind he has done nothing wrong. And furthermore he has enjoyed it. Why should I not enjoy what it is I have to do? he asks himself and finds that his love of violence is somehow justified. And besides, he contends, he only becomes violent with those who are themselves violent. It is he who gives them their just desserts. As far as he is concerned he is always on the side of good no matter how hard he "slices" and "smashes." Pendrek Drome is a work of experimental literature that blends English with invented words and features of Germanic and Slavic languages. The reader learns the language by reading the book and because the language is thoroughly consistent, and also by way of a glossary in the back, the process is a quick one. This strange "cousin" of English resonates with an atmosphere of strangeness which bodes well with tale that is told. Kaleidoscopic in tone, it is a tale full of sex, drugs, art and violence and endowed with an absurd wit that lends itself to the comic vision of the events related. |