They're Cows, We're Pigs

Carmen Boullosa examines the society created by the Brethren of the Coast, 17th century Caribbean freebooters on the island of Tortuga. It is a communal society, purposely without women, a fact which allows property to be shared and men to coexist harmoniously. Into this world steps Jan Smeeks, a boy kidnapped from Flanders, who embodies both male and female characteristics. Smeeks is astounded by the roving, plundering, male "pig" characteristics of the Brethren, but he learns to despise the sedentary, civilized, female "cow" characteristics of the colonists and settlers. Boullosa's characterization of Smeeks is particularly sensitive. His little-boy wonder when he touches his first female breast, his comment that he always seems to notice the little details of a situation while missing the larger picture (a trait which makes him an interesting narrator), his fascination with Dr.Pineau's existential pontifications, all mark him as something apart from the other freebooters. The book is a good one, it is interesting to think about the ideal communal society predicated on the most appalling slaughter, on the role played by the presence and absence of women - Eve in the Garden. However, I wished the book were longer. No characters beyond Smeeks are fully drawn, and the abbreviated narrative leaves many gaps which the reader is left to fill with imagination. There are strong images: the Jamaican brothel, and the monks and nuns who refuse to be used as human shields. There are weak images: the hurricane that kills dozens is not described at all. We just wake up the next day. The translation is occasionally jerky: "L'Olonnais had the injured Spaniards who remained on the path finished off after he asked them for what he wanted." (p.164). But overall it is a fun and interesting book. Boullosa has much to share.