ILLUSION IN JAVA

An ultra-rarified book, and quite a departure for Gene Fowler, this story of a Javanese music-maker, Ajoks, and his semi-legendary experiences, told in the symbolistic, metaphorical idiom of the people. It may get a good critical reception, but it's not apt to be many people's cup of tea. How Ajoks leaves his native tribe and the girl he loves to gather fortune in a nearby kingdom when he takes his magic bull there to cure the ailing emperor, ups and downs en route, his flogging and then near-seduction by the emperor's wife when he reaches the palace. Then when homeward bound he gets fame and fortune playing his bonan for the Regent of a nearby tribe, only to throw it aside for the simpler things of the world. It's undoubtedly a fine piece of recreating of a little known native civilization, but it's not very readable. Sharply limited.