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| Vincent Courtenay, right, poses with former Canadian Ambassador to Korea Eric Walsh in this undated photo. The ambassador discussed Courtenay's several books, which are now on file in the Canadian Embassy in Seoul. Ambassador Walsh returned to Canada in November when his successor, Ambassador Michael Danaher, arrived in Seoul. The book, "Excellency," does not focus on either of the two ambassadors. / Courtesy of Vincent Courtenay |
'Excellency' shows a Canadian ambassador under pressure
By Jon Dunbar
jdunbar@ktimes.com
We Canadians pride ourselves on our favorable reputation, on being a moral linchpin of the Western world. But the actual reason for that is because most other countries just don't give a damn about our country, the world's second-largest by area with a population almost 15 million people fewer than South Korea.
That seems to be the attitude of the scandal-ridden Canadian Ambassador to Korea John Bandeen, the main character of the (hopefully) entirely fictional book "Excellency," written by Canadian Korean War veteran Vincent Courtenay. Bandeen is interested in trade relations, not Canadian nationalistic sentiment. And then his life disintegrates publicly and his rivals plot his downfall.
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| "Excellency" by Vincent Courtenay |
A shattered man following a vicious divorce, Bandeen considers suicide early on in the book. But after spy chief General Woo discloses the death of Merriweather, Bandeen acts like a man possessed, romanticizing this mysterious journalist's devil-may-care attitude.
It leads him on an adventure through the Seoul of 20 years ago, where temptation takes him to Itaewon's Bunker Hill (later known as Hooker Hill). He sees great potential in the woman he meets there, moving her into his ambassadorial residence intent on making her his second wife. This kicks off a flurry of gossip, political backstabbing and actual literal stabbing.
A Canadian ambassador shacking up with a prostitute would certainly be cause for a diplomatic scandal that could hurt Canada-Korea relations. It also is likely to scare off politically sensitive readers who object to the book's portrayal of prostitution.
The author enclosed a signed letter with the book, beseeching our (female) section editor: "I hope that some of the seamy language, used mostly in the first few chapters, does not offend you."
Surprising, because the book is a sordid tale from start to finish. Not quite as smutty as a typical bodice-ripper romance novel, but what you might expect from a book in which not one but two main characters find their match in Korean hookers with hearts of gold.
"Excellency" is hardly ever overly sexually explicit in detail. The book is most explicit in its mentions of the male anatomy, from a nonchalant handjob by a masseuse at a hotel sauna, to wives stroking their husbands' puds to the point of pulling them around like they were dogs on leashes, to multiple scenes of emasculation described figuratively but graphically as castrations.
All female characters are formidable, capable of rewarding or punishing the male characters. They range from bargirls and prostitutes to loyal or disloyal wives, as well as the terrifying Levesque, a powerful, but attractive, civil servant with her own agenda. They are described by their physical assets through the male point of view, while not reduced to that level as characters.
All this, in a book about the diplomatic corps in Korea, centered around the Canadian Embassy in the late 1990s.
The book succeeds as a character study, exploring various perspectives, back stories and character relationships from multiple angles. It also offers vivid descriptions of various Seoul locales circa the 1990s, particularly the Shilla Hotel and its sculpture garden where a deadly shootout takes multiple lives, as well as a pre-gentrified Itaewon and a slightly livelier Namdaemun Market.
But it also has some copy editing errors. For starters, the very first line has an apostrophe error ("1990's"). The book goes on to describe places like Pukansan (which is wrong no matter which Romanization system you use), Montmarte (Montmartre) and King Sejongno (is it a king or a road?). Worst, I'm pretty sure Park Chung-hee didn't have Kim Dae-jung abducted in 2003.
"Excellency" needs a good proofreading from a competent editor familiar with Korea. Despite the errors it is still an entertaining read, but clearing those up would make it much easier to recommend.
