Paperback reader

Published 17 September 2001

Loco: advice for travellers John Binias Macmillan, 243pp, £9.99 ISBN 0333905652

John Binias's second novel, described by its narrator, Otto, as "a qualitative study of the gentle art of independent travel", is a wonderfully strange tale of one man's journey to an unknown destination. Otto is arrogance personified, relaying his adventures through London amid a haze of powerful narcotics and perfectly pitched humour. Binias has created a compelling anti-hero whose behaviour is abhorrent yet often appealing.

The narrative jumps around without warning, punctuating the plot with abstract advice on travelling at home and abroad. There are elements of slapstick, a purposefully contrived love interest by the name of Aphro, who effortlessly draws out the misogynist in Otto, and even a contemporary twist on Robinson Crusoe, a back-to-basics experience which serves as a period of self-discovery.

It doesn't all work. Otto's self-centredness means that no other characters are developed, and the endless stream of obscure facts becomes tiresome. However, if you want to know the average rainfall of Scotland, or if you want to read a very funny, original book, it may be time for you to go Loco.

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1 comment from readers

John White
20 November 2007 at 20:27: The "endless stream of obscure facts" is esential to the character development. At least they are only in the form of footnotes, which, after reding the first few, it becomes apparent that reading them is optional. This is a slick way of avoiding the device used by Easton-Ellis for disrupting the action. Much in the same way as Coupland's Generation X, but with a different (ir)relevance. Otto's descent into total psychosis and unwitting self-realisation is magical, and wonderfully satyrical. When's Binias's next one due?