September 2000 | Out in the Mountains I37

REVIEWED BY TINA BARNEY
‘ The biggest mystery of this book was how its edi-
tor let the writing pass.

That was solved in the publishers’ insert, which
notes that Zschokke wrote her PhD thesis on the les-
bian figure in fiction. The stamp of academia could
explain how a potentially great tropical story line
could get so lost and buried in ponderous prose.‘ In
scholastic discourse, the creation of overarching, uni-
fying theories is celebrated as synthesis. In this novel,
the effect is of a story heavily contrived. The dis-
parate threads of story lines become densely knotted
rather than intriguingly woven. In theory, redundan-
cy reduces the risk of being misunderstood. In fic-
tion, it pummels the reader.

I’ll be generous. Zschokke could have intended
this as a parody, exposing risks of academic style,
and painting a caricature of lesbian culture, prodding
us to see the roots of stereotypes. Janet, her protago-

nist, sets out to write an historical book for tenure. A
few gems of insight sparkle through the foggy
research approach. Janet’s blind spots highlight the
fallacy of “objectivity” of an academic observer,
when in fact we all have grown up with acculturated
biases.

Zschokke attempts cultural relevance by attending
to racism, the influence of drug trade and corruption,
coercion, and homophobia in the Caribbean, but there
is a forced quality to each additional overlaid theme.
The analytical style of the academic sleuth is labori- .
ous, as is Janet’s progress in gathering clues.‘ She
embodies the intrusiveness of research in her close-
minded, controlling, and disrespectful conduct with
the islanders. Her repetitive worrying and

are redundant examples of lesbians ashamed and
trapped and silenced. The most resilient female char-
acter may be the elderly woman who finally reveals
her family’s secret lesbian heritage and love. Without
any parallel strength in the current women, the story
suggests that the only way for a lesbian to survive is
to masquerade. Perhaps this means to amplify histor-
ical reality, but it is depressing. To be fair, the story’s
straight relationships are also abysmal and ripe with
adultery, deceit, and violence.

This book might be enjoyable when one is stuck in
an airport for hours. Perhaps the movement of the
story was meant to mirror the pace of the Carribean.
Or perhaps Zschokke simply forgot the difference

list-making provides a glimpse of an obses-

 

sive mind that focuses on the details, but
misses the big picture.

Zschokke can build effective tension and
emotion when she writes in the present tense,
as in the rare erotic scenes. She loses credi-
bility by shying away from any development
of the main characters, or of depth in their
relationships. Janet considers giving up her
entire academic career for a married woman
she’s known about a month. She is primarily
attracted by the woman’s beauty, and her best
ever orgasm, which incidentally is how she
decides she is a lesbian.

 

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