Cham-Jonathan Trigell

Cham
Jonathan Trigell
Serpent’s Trail, May 2009, $15.95
ISBN: 9781852429584

His grandfather was a successful man who brought the family middle class comfort; his father built on that foundation and turned the family into one of the rich. His son Itchy feels lost, not knowing what to do in life except have a good time; as he has affluence way beyond his need. He turned into a womanizing sports junkie living in the exclusive French Alps village Chamonix Mont Blanc in which the more perilous the event the more he relishes participating.

As he nears thirty, Itchy feels less certain of defying mortality sports. However, he cannot resist snow, the stuff you ski down the Alps on and the stuff you sniff up your nose as a Columbian uphill. He still loves watching the “ bobfocs" babes and pseudo cherishes the romantic poets of early nineteenth century. Yet recently the ski bum remains unfulfilled and despondent; decadence remains his lifestyle though it no longer has the savory taste it once had while his drunken drug stupors leave him with memory gaps. Itchy gets community active with an obsession to uncover the identity of a serial rapist.

This is a fascinating character study of a third generation nouveau riche who knows something is no longer right in his world, but remains clueless as to what it is and why the change; the I in his first name stands for idiot and ignorance. Even when he decides to be a heroic activist, he picks a dangerous path and approaches it as a sport as if he is downhill skiing with total abandonment of safety. The action is somewhat limited even when the antihero does his insane sporting events, but no one will care as Jonathan Trigell digs deep into the psyche of excess materialism leading to indifferent decadence even if Itchy is no BOY A.

Harriet Klausner