Ace businessman, writer, and investigative journalist Richard Parker loses his job when he exposes the CEO of his newspaper as a beef exporter. Accused of misconduct and forced to dissolve his company, he retreats to his wretched little village.
Attempting to resuscitate his life, Richard realizes that attaining enlightenment is his calling.
What holds him back?
Well, he does not know if spirituality or sexuality comes first. He must also avoid the attentions of Isakki, the dark witch, and her menacing buffaloes. Desperate and confused, Richard consults an astrologer, who predicts that his destiny lies in the exotic East.
Richard sets out on a spiritual journey—an odyssey of self-discovery that takes him through the market streets, ballrooms, tantric retreats, and pristine jungles of Southeast Asia. Between running for his life and trying to prove he is not a con artist, child snatcher, or Man Friday material, Richard discovers his true love—in the least expected place. And yes, he also discovers the path to enlightenment.
Saint Richard Parker is a humorous travel adventure across the famed spiritual and romantic region of Southeast Asia, with an ensemble of unforgettable characters and a keen eye for the absurdities of modern life.
What ensues, over this epic-length travel tale, is a series of comic misadventures across Southeast Asia, as Parker, born a Christian, faces growing Hindu nationalism in India and a host of surprises abroad, in Malaysia and Thailand, with sharply drawn women he meets on Tinder, a CouchSurfing app, and elsewhere. He works with a woman to establish safe places for cows and street dogs; falls under the spell of social-media religious leaders who make pitches like “Pay only $4,999 US dollars, and liberate your soul”; seeks spiritual breakthroughs in the wrong kind of Bangkok spa; visits a hunter-gatherer tribe in the Malaysian highlands, where he’s mistaken for child-thieving police.
Franco’s prose and perspective are continually arresting, and the novel bursts with amusing incident and food for thought, especially on the subjects of commodified enlightenment, the exploitation of women and the global poor, and the (hilarious, troubling) flexibility of its narrator’s ideas. But the novel’s length, its anecdotal naif’s-progress structure, and general low stakes mean that it often feels long, lacking a compelling narrative drive. Still, as Parker ducks bees, endures misunderstandings, and encounters (but doesn’t quite suss out) the hypocrisies of rulers and faith leaders, Franco stirs serious, often pained laughs.
Takeaway: Truly funny novel of a South Indian man's journey toward enlightenment.
Comparable Titles: Shashi Tharoor, Anurag Mathur.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
