THE FIRST THING I was ever told about Jews was that every Christmas they would take a Christian toddler, put it screaming in a barrel, run knives between the slats, and drain the child of its blood. While christians celebrated the birth of Jesus, Jews had a mock ceremony at midnight in their synagogues, before images of their horned God, where they drank the blood of the sacrified child.
What a graphic start! It is the story of a young Australian photographer, Isaac who travels through Europe where he finds history-blasted wastelands, a place condemned by ghosts, unearthing ancient terrors that have not been laid to rest behind the façades of a unified, globalised contemporary society. Dead Europe for the little I’ve read seems to be an unsettling story of blood lust, blood libel and blood revenge and full of scintillating narration. Its written by Christos Tsiolkas– I don’t expect anything less! More as I finish.
Surprisingly enough, Dead Europe is not listed on Amazon.com even after an approximate months release in the market. If you’re keen on some reviews, here goes:
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OK, I’m sold. Can you lend me when you’re finished? Oh, and in return for having dinner with you tomorrow night, why don’t you lend me Loaded?
I’m half way through. The historical narrative sets a haunting gothic setting to this Europe which Isaac is travelling through. I’m loving Isaac’s very Tsiokas style sex encounters. Unlike ‘Loaded’, in ‘Dead Europe’ the sex could be with ghosts. Every character(even the ghostly ones) feels real. I want to know their history, hear their talk and spy on their sex.
I’m loving this book.