There are a lot of great things about this book: a deliciously queer lens, a historical sensibility, and a narrative strength. In other words, the main character, Jayjay, embodies a quirky, playful challenge to the early 20th century cultural norms, the story moves from pre World War II England (the least interesting part of the book) to back room bars and illegal pornography rings in Suez and Cairo and orgies on a Nile Houseboat to air raids in Alexandria. The snapshots of the underground economies of pornography and drugs in Egypt in pre-war time, as well as the queer parties and spaces, are really captivating. There is a voyeuristic pleasure in reading this--which is not ironically a major theme in this book. Jayjay claims to be first and foremost an imposter, someone who can slip into the skin and language of someone else. This is another major theme in this book--the relationship between what is concealed and what is not, what is affected and the 'real', and the what we reveal to others and do not. The themes are carried through and appear in clever ways and the pacing is especially well done in this regard.Where the book fails is two-fold: in the narrating character (not the main character) and the writing. The worst parts of the book are those where the narrating character veers from the story of Jayjay to focus on his own life. This narrator's life and story are totally inconsequential to the book. These parts drag horribly. And the writing reaches its most irritating heights in these parts. The language is sometimes so tortured and overdone that I found myself putting the book down many times. The tone is so self-conscious and smug that you REALLY learn to hate the narrator, and possibly the writer himself. While there are definitely some great quotes and gems in this book, they happen when the writer isn't trying as hard as he seems to be for the majority of the book. This is why I gave this book 3 stars.
As a worthy reviewer below notes, I came to this b/c I read 'Cooking with Fernet Branca' - and this is the only other one by the author in our library system. His range is incredible - I enjoyed this one just as much but for vastly different reasons. 'Fernet Branca' I've recommended to a select group of people (with the right quirky sense of humor) - all of whom have found it as hilarious as I did ... this one, I'm not sure to whom to recommend, even though the writing was impeccable. It was slow going in the first third, but I was connected and involved by the end. And throughout, I enjoyed his phrasing, pacing, and characterization. I will definitely track down more of his writing of any type.
