Fan-Tan

The story of the making of this novel is as interesting as the book itself -- the tale of a Scottish-American sea captain who signs on with some Chinese pirates in the South Pacific during the 1920s. The late Marlon Brando struck up a friendship with Donald Cammell during the 1960s when the actor was in France shooting The Young Lions. The two eccentrics had many character similarities and decided to collaborate on this ultimately unfinished project. An editor and film historian stepped in and finished the job...

I am not really much of a fiction reader, but I had to read "Fan-Tan" since the story came from the mind of Marlon Brando, himself. It is sad that both men who originally participated in bringing this story to fruition, Marlon Brando and Donald Cammell, are no longer with us. But, how grateful I am for such works that are part of the legacy of wonderful artists such as they both obviously were. And, how grateful I am that David Thomson did such a wonderful job in completing this novel so that it could be made available to us. Although fiction is not my favorite kind of reading, I enjoyed "Fan-Tan" so much with its intriguing plot and its twists and turns. I found myself looking forward, page by page, to what would come next. The book is well-paced and full of intrigue. I enjoyed its unique and eccentric characters, including that of Annie Doultry - a character Brando might have played. The book's content is imaginative and downright spicy in some parts. I found the sexual "escapades" interesting, edgy, daring, and surprising. I also enjoyed the descriptive writing and the vivid settings - I was able to picture each scene in my mind's eye. I think Marlon Brando fans will enjoy reading this book, if for no other reason, to further savor the genius of Marlon Brando.

The main question I had before beginning this book was 'could the story live up to the jacket design?', the answer is yes. Maybe it was the knowledge that Marlon Brando wrote (some of) this book that I immediately saw his likeness in the main character of Annie. Regardless, his presence is the main selling point and the main entertaining point of this fine novel. I wonder whether we could read about the further adventures of Anatole Doultry through the eyes of the editor (David Thomson) who made a (fairly) seamless transition to authorship in the final chapter.

In 1927, fifty-one years old Captain Anatole "Annie" Doultry serves six-months in Victoria Gaol in Hong Kong for violating the Arms and Ammunition Ordinance of 1900. Honk King enjoys being the market place of the Pacific where items such as the gun shipment Annie legally brought with him was bona fide cargo heading to Shantung, Republic of China, but he got an offer in the city that he could not refuse. Thus he is doing "soft" time for selling without a license. While in prison he saves the life of Hai Sheng, accused of piracy, by claiming the Chinaman is his cook. Once Annie completes his sentence that whimsical good deed he performed for Hai brings him to the attention of the criminal's mob boss Madame Lai Choi San, better known as Mountain of Wealth. She offers Annie a deal to join her in hi-jacking the British ship SS Chow Fa, carrying a fortune in silver. Of course Annie cannot resist the lure of the booty or the siren call of Lai. The adventure and danger on the high seas has just begun. This is a terrific "throwback" action-packed pirate saga filled with atmosphere of 1920s Hong Kong and China while starring a larger than life roguish anti-hero mindful of Captain Blood but in the Pacific. The support cast especially the mysterious and enticing Madame Lai augments the feeling that the audience is visiting the early twentieth century Asiatic Pacific rim while also allowing the readers to better understand the Scotsman. FAN-TAN is a fabulous adventure tale. Harriet Klausner