Hearing Voices

He slept flanked by corpses in Vietnam, crossed oceans and taught the Generals of the Dominican Republic to know fear. Women killed themselves for his sake, and before his arrest an entire district was cordoned off. Keber, hero of Drago Jancar's new novel, is a traveller, a seeker of adventures that have left deep traces in his life. His slow movements, upright bearing, and gimlet eyes command respect in the world of ports, barracks and prisons. But all his adventures pale in comparison with the great prison revolt of Livada which he instigates and must follow through to its bitter end.

Rich in colourful description, Drago Jancar's novel shows how rapidly the dynamics of revolt succumb to lethargy and how, ultimately, revolution devours its children.