I had enjoyed Lawrence Osborne’s The Forgiven, set mostly in Morocco, and particularly admired the tension and suspense to which the middle-aged couple, the Hennigers, were subjected after they had run over a young Moroccan in the Atlas mountains while on their way to a lavish party.
But Hunters in the Dark is very different; the central figure is 28, a teacher from the south of England, taking an indefinite time out. In the long-standing tradition of the naive traveller abroad, Robert Grieve is likely to run into trouble in Cambodia, and he duly meets an American who offers to help him in this unfamiliar country. It is clear that Simon is on the make, but young Robert seems to miss the obvious.
He is soon having an affair with the daughter of a wealthy doctor, who only just escaped the purges of the Khmer many years ago. This man wants Robert to perfect his daughter’s English. It is soon obvious that Sophal speaks almost perfect English already. She has also lived in Paris. Robert is drinking a lot and taking drugs; in fact, everyone in the story is drinking, and the discussions of drugs and strong alcohol brands become tedious. Robert has won $2,000 playing roulette, and now he is a target for drivers of tuk-tuks, hotel managers, guides, policemen and young women. Simon offers a boat to take Robert to visit Phnom Penh.
When Robert crossed into Cambodia “he went underneath the dry eaves of the opposing nation and gave his passport anew to the men behind a shabby window.” In other words, he showed his passport. This is very clunky, and there is more of the same. Waking up after a binge, Robert finds his backpack missing. There is no sign of Simon. Robert realises that Simon has taken his money and left him penniless in a remote inlet in the river where the boatman dumps him. And so it goes on, one pointless incident after another. Osborne intended, I think, an ambitious kaleidoscopic; although there are lots of incidents, there are few that further the plot.
Much of the story is obviously the product of a lot of research in Vietnam and Cambodia, which Osborne delivers in 50 pages but never quite brings to life. He details the weather every day and makes marginally interesting descriptions of temples, hotels, restaurants and girls, and he reflects on the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.
Osborne probably intended insight into a fascinating and dangerous country and also to give the reader a sense of its exoticism. Sadly, despite its high aspirations, this novel does not quite work.
Hunters in the Dark is published by Vintage, £8.99. Click here to buy it for £6.99
