The Book of Revelation

By Rupert Thomson

Book Overview

In an edgy psychological thriller that is as mesmerizing as it is profound, Rupert Thomson fearlessly delves into the darkest realm of the human spirit to reveal the sinister connection between sexuality and power. Stepping out of his Amsterdam studio one April afternoon to buy cigarettes for his girlfriend, a dashing 29-year old Englishman reflects on their wonderful seven-year relationship, and his stellar career as an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer. But the nameless protagonist's destiny takes an unthinkably horrifying turn when a trio of mysterious cloaked and hooded women kidnap him, chain him to the floor of a stark white room to keep as their sexual prisoner, and subjected him to eighteen days of humiliation, mutilation, and rape. Then, after a bizarrely public performance, he is released, only to be held captive in the purgatory of his own guilt and torment: The realization that no one will believe his strange story. Coolly revelatory, meticulously crafted, The Book of Revelation is Rupert Thomson at his imaginative best.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375708456
• ISBN13: 9780375708459
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

a tour de force

Rupert Thomson (1955) has written a fascinating and compelling sixth novel, and once you start reading 'The Book of Revelation', it's difficult to put the book down. A nameless 30-year old english dancer/choreographer lives and works in Amsterdam. He has a succesful career and for some years he's been living happily with his nice girlfriend Brigitte, also a dancer. In his life there are no real troubles, until... everything changes forever. He's abducted in Amsterdam by three cloaked and hooded women, who hold him captive and chained naked to the floor of an anonymous white empty room for eighteen days. For no apparent reason. During his captivity the only option there for him is total submission. The young women, presumably of his own age, appear often naked -though always hooded- to him. They have their way and play all kinds of games with him, mostly for their sexual pleasure. When the women's demands become more fierce, total dehumanisation and humiliation follows. The man is defenseless against this depraved performance of power, domination and desire. The ordeal he's subjected to includes rape and even brutal mutilation. For the reader this is a shocking nightmare as well. The captivity-part of the book reminded me of Pascal Bruckner's bizarre and weird, but brilliant novel 'les voleurs de beauté' (1997), and of two films where a similar sort of events takes place: Pasolini's 'Salo: the 120 days of Sodom' (1975) and Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games' (1998). What happens there is that you're forced to witness extreme atrocities, while you know there will be no escape from these brutal violations of human dignity. And of course, as a 'witness', it makes you sick, you feel horrible. It's the same with Thomson's 'Book of revelation', with one big difference, ... a relief. The man regains his freedom. After eighteen days the women all of a sudden decide to release him. The book is really about what follows then. Of course, after his release he's not really free. He will carry the horrible events he endured in captivity for the rest of his life, probably without ever knowing the identity of his torturers. In a brilliant way Thomson manages to describe the psychological process that accompanies the quest that now lies ahead of this deeply wounded man. His life-after looks like an endless re-evaluation. How to live with yourself, with these scars, how to deal with sexuality, with the people around you, and how to put your life in some sort of right track again... Facing all these problems the man begins a search for the women who made a ruin of his life. A search that will also bring his innermost self to the fore, in a way he never could have imagined. The outline and structure of the novel is well balanced, and the shifting of perspective, using the first person ('I'-form) and third person ('he'-form) alternately in different sections of the novel, works fine and efficient. I read all Thomson's novels and one of his best writing skills throughout hi

a tour de force

Rupert Thomson (1955) has written a fascinating and compelling sixth novel, and once you start reading 'The Book of Revelation', it's difficult to put the book down. A nameless 30-year old english dancer/choreographer lives and works in Amsterdam. He has a succesful career and for some years he's been living happily with his nice girlfriend Brigitte, also a dancer. In his life there are no real troubles, until... everything changes forever. He's abducted in Amsterdam by three cloaked and hooded women, who hold him captive and chained naked to the floor of an anonymous white empty room for eighteen days. For no apparent reason. During his captivity the only option there for him is total submission. The young women, presumably of his own age, appear often naked -though always hooded- to him. They have their way and play all kinds of games with him, mostly for their sexual pleasure. When the women's demands become more fierce, total dehumanisation and humiliation follows. The man is defenseless against this depraved performance of power, domination and desire. The ordeal he's subjected to includes rape and even brutal mutilation. For the reader this is a shocking nightmare as well. The captivity-part of the book reminded me of Pascal Bruckner's bizarre and weird, but brilliant novel 'les voleurs de beauté' (1997), and of two films where a similar sort of events takes place: Pasolini's `Salo: the 120 days of Sodom' (1975) and Michael Haneke's `Funny Games' (1998). What happens there is that you're forced to witness extreme atrocities, while you know there will be no escape from these brutal violations of human dignity. And of course, as a `witness', it makes you sick, you feel horrible. It's the same with Thomson's `Book of revelation', with one big difference, ... a relief. The man regains his freedom. After eighteen days the women all of a sudden decide to release him. The book is really about what follows then. Of course, after his release he's not really free. He will carry the horrible events he endured in captivity for the rest of his life, probably without ever knowing the identity of his torturers. In a brilliant way Thomson manages to describe the psychological process that accompanies the quest that now lies ahead of this deeply wounded man. His life-after looks like an endless re-evaluation. How to live with yourself, with these scars, how to deal with your sexuality, with the people around you, and how to put your life in some sort of right track again... Facing all these problems the man begins a search for the women who made a ruin of his life. A search that will also bring his innermost self to the fore, in a way he never could have imagined. The outline and structure of the novel is well balanced, and the shifting of perspective, using the first person (`I'-form) and third person (`he'-form) alternately in different sections of the novel, works fine and efficient. I read all Thomson's novels and one of his best writing skills througho

The best book in a long time

This is a wonderful book - the best book I have read in a long time. I almost didn't check it out, because I thought the abduction section would creep me out too much. It isn't at all too creepy, though. It's a fascinating and beautifully written book. I couldn't put it down. I sympathized with the protagonist throughout and found the book entirely satisfying. I think Thomson's exploration of the effects of trauma is sensitive and intelligent.

Brilliant

A very strange, very haunting book not just about sex and power (though there's a lot of that), but about the past constantly intruding on the mind.

Wow.

I finished this book in 1 1/2 days. It's very powerful and moving. Thomson has a nice style, and the subject matter is both shocking (the first half) and universal (the second half). Don't be put off by the subject matter...the story is about so much more than "sex".