MAYA RED

by J.R. Humphreys ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 1989

A phantasmagoric dream-vision about a man with amnesia who finds himself in Mexico among religious zealots and capitalists intent on reenacting ancient Mayan sacrifices: at best, byzantine and occult enough to bring good DeLillo to mind; too often, however, bagginess and a deliberate disregard for punctuation get in the way of satire and suspense. Van Dromer, lost and amnesiac in the Yucatan, is trying to get back (we discover in flashbacks) to his squalid life in New York (a failing drugstore, a wife who wants an annulment). Instead, a series of fast cuts and near escapes leads to an apocalyptic climax: Van Dromer, hired by the rich Palter for his perfect memory, was supposed to memorize a Mayan Codex, the Kukulcan (or god's manuscript)--a magical story connected to the apocalyptic end of the Fourth Creation. The cast of characters includes Palter, who is building a Mayan City, Xibalda, in the jungle for tourists; Wells, the priest, who has identified Van Dromer as the ""Great Prince"" of the Mayans; and several women, especially Charley-Mae and Carla, who compete for Van Dromer. The plot (sometimes energetic, sometimes muddy) makes it way to Palter's city, where it bogs down until the apocalypse of Opening Night at Xibalda (a sort of Playboy mansion with Mayan flavors). Van Dromer, no longer quite himself, is supposed to be the willing sacrificial victim in a suicide-ritual for tourists (Palter's scheme) to which figures from his past (and from New York) have been invited. Instead, imbued with godlike strength, he initiates a bloodbath, culminating in decapitations--a jogging, dancing Wells then snuggles into Palter's flayed hide, expecting a mystical transformation. Humphreys (Subway to Samarkand, 1977) has a talent for exotic description, but occasionally this multilayered tale gets away from him and takes a melodramatic turn for the worse.

Pub Date: July 25, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Cane Hill (225 Varick St., New York, NY 10014)

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1989

Categories: FICTION