38 I CHRONICLESndue to the U-2 incident and othernissues is interpreted as a capitulation tonthe Chinese, who distrusted a Soviet-nAmerican accord. It seems more hkelynthat a Soviet desire to catch up innnuclear weapons had to be the primenmotivator—not a concern for Chinesenopinion.nThe authors also believe that thenSoviets sensed President Kennedy’snstrong resolve through his meetingnwith Khrushchev in June of 1961, asnwell as his subsequent management ofnthe Berlin Wall crisis of August 1961.nMore likely, Khrushchev saw Kennedynas young and inexperienced, especiallynafter the Bay of Pigs fiasco of Apriln1961, which in turn led to the crisis ofnthe Berlin Wall. The U.S. response tonthe Wall could hardly be called resolute,nand it is likely that the JunenSummit contributed to the impressionnof weakness. These weak reactionsnprobably led to the Cuban missilencrisis of October 1962, when we finallyndid stand up to the Soviets.nGiven the nearly 70 years of thenpractice of Marxism-Leninism in thenSoviet Union, a time longer than thenaverage span of life in that country, itnwould be reasonable to expect somenproofs of a superiority of Soviet lifenover that of the West—the claim thatnhad set the original Revolution innmotion. Instead, Soviet living standardsnare those of the Third World;nrates of alcoholism are the world’snworst; and the rate of imprisonment isnmore than 3.5 times greater than thenU.S.nNikita Khrushchev, dictating hisnmemoirs in the late 1960’s, makes anpoint about emigration: “It’s incrediblento me that after fifty years of Sovietnpower, paradise should be kept undernlock and key.” Of course, if smilingnMikhail Gorbachev really did want tonpractice openness, he should simplynjoin the international community andnallow all of his workers the right tonemigrate from his paradise. Thatnwould be a sure sign that the Sovietnsystem is superior and that its leadersnactually believe in it. If that idea werentoo radical, however, perhaps Gorbachevnwould first allow Soviet citizensnan opportunity to read Utopia innPower.nMichael Warder is executive vice presidentnof The Rockford Institute.nSums ofnDisenchantmentnby Stephen L. TannernFigures of Enchantment by ZulfikarnChose, New York: Harper & Row;n$15.95.nZulfikar Chose was born in Pakistan,ngrew up in British India, emigrated tonEngland in 1952, and since 1969 hasntaught in the English department ofnthe University of Texas. He is marriednto a Brazilian and has enough knowledgenof South America to write novelsnset there. This is his 10th novel. Henhas also published a collection of storiesn(with B.S. Johnson), an autobiography,nfour volumes of poetry, andntwo books of literary criticism.nGiven this varied background andnconsiderable writing experience, one isnnot surprised at this novel’s skillfulnpresentation of a fascinating variety ofnhuman types and behavior. The storynbegins in an unnamed country onnSouth America’s western coast, wherena poorly paid government clerk, FelipenGamboa, dreams of Pacific islands, anbetter salary, and a successful marriagenfor his 16-year-old daughter. But, onnhis way home from work, he discoversnhis beloved daughter in the embrace ofnFrederico, a poor neighbor boy. Furious,nGamboa separates them and dragsnthe daughter home. The next day,nwhile eating a sack lunch in a publicnsquare, he is mistakenly arrested with angroup of antigovernment demonstratorsnand ends up adrift in the Pacific inna small boat.nThe focus then shifts to Frederico,nwho is also a dreamer about moneynand Pacific islands. Immediately afternthe scuffle with his girlfriend’s father,nhe is caught up in a bizarre series ofnadventures involving an alleged magicnamulet, numerous sexual encountersnwith older women, and mindless participationnin an international crimensyndicate.nAfter 18 years, Gamboa and Fredericonmeet again on a small Pacificnisland off the South American coast.nGamboa has another daughter by anothernwoman, exactly the age of hisnfirst daughter when he was whiskednaway. On this barren island, thennovel, marked by fantasy and surrealismnthroughout, comes to its peculiar,nnnviolent end, while hints of Shakespeare’snThe Tempest provide ironicnresonance. The island has its Prosperonand Caliban, and bogus magic animatesnthe entire story — this is nonbrave new world but a “dead world” ofnashes, nuclear waste, and political oppression.nDespite its treatment of the appallingncontrasts between wealth and povertynand, more incidentally, of theninhumane corruption of an anti-nCommunist military government. Figuresnof Enchantment is ultimately unconcernednwith politics and socialnjustice. The principal theme is humannself-deception. One of the meanings ofn”figures” in the titie is money figures.nRepeatedly, the characters are calculatingnthe freedom and self-indulgencenthey are sure money will provide.nTheir existences are caught up in thenself-deceptive arithmetic of wantingnmore than they possess. And, withnChose, the delusions spun out of thendesire for money are a manifestation ofna fundamental human habit of delusionnin general. At one point Gamboanglimpses mankind as “flowing impetuously,nand without thought, towardnanother world where an intenser miserynawaited it than it had known, butnthat in its thoughtiess drive it wasnsustained by the belief that it proceededntoward a land of enchanting pleasures.”nThis bleak parable encapsulatesnthe world of Ghose’s novel. In annessentially nihilistic vision, in whichnno person or endeavor warrant ournsympathy, human consciousness becomesnrationalization and illusion,ngenerated by the “self’s combat with itsnshadow.”nThe dust jacket touts “undreamedofnadventures in sensuality and metaphysics.”nThe sensuality turns out tonbe abundant sexual description borderingnon the pornographic, while thenmetaphysics translates into littie morenthan vague, self-consciously poeticnpassages on self, time, magic, andndreams.nChose is a master at describing thenhuman genius for deceiving itself, butnhe forgets that self-deception is a powerfulntheme only granted the possibilitynof its opposite.nStephen L. Tanner is professor of Englishnat Brigham Young University.n