Roland Nair is a NATO operative traveling in Africa. He’s assigned to follow Michael Adriko, a Congolese who happens to be his close friend. Michael has a plan that involves a rock disguised as processed uranium, and Nair is both horrified at the madness of the idea and attracted to the cash it might promise.
Africa isn’t good to either of these men, and they’re not especially good to each other or even anybody else. They’re struggling with something none of us could get right – a malaise so deep that their judgment is wrecked in every direction. If anyone has low standards, it’s these guys.
The Laughing Monsters is not a pretty book, but not ugly either. It conjures a story too much like real life, with all the strange and beautiful abundance that surrounds us. Denis Johnson’s writing is focused more on the strange and horrific, but within these limits, this book has a lot to offer. I’m particularly impressed at how he brings to life bright but troubled characters meandering through conditions rife with destruction.