By graham butchart
Acrobats of Reason
Acrobats of reason is the compelling story of Martin Wilson-Jones, his struggle to survive Indonesia’s corporate world and the steady erosion of his own principles. Under the constant pressure from the greed and corruption of his adversaries and those he once respected, Martin almost loses everything, including his life
Author
Graham Butchart
Early memory of Bondi Beach in 1950; trams to the beach on a summers day, salt air and the scent of Norfolk Pines carried on a North East sea breeze.
Then, at age five there was the sudden unexplained stark contrast of one day being in Bondi Beach, the next day in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea . There, amidst stark reminders of the failed WW11 Japanese Invasion, young white colonialists like my parents followed the myriad of unmarked trails of post war opportunity, each path awash with alcohol and infidelities.
Still an only child at that point my irreparably damaged parents returned to Sydney’s northern Beaches where they continued with their disintegration process.
A tumultuous period followed, finally driving this young teenager at the time to escape the confines of parental imprisonment and enjoy the freedom of surfing, playing music, of a love, a divorce and through all this, somewhere in the background the Vietnam War raged.
On the morning I turned 25 I left Sydney forever, rode a motor bike to Byron Bay where, after ten years in search of solace raising a new family and pursuing an alternative lifestyle life had become so predictable, so tedious as to be a bore.
Just as my father did in 1953, in 1982 I dragged my young family to Bali for some fresh adventure. After eighteen months of being hard wired to the unrelenting cultural, financial and personal pressures I’m left an emotional and financial stress case and the family return to Australia.
I stay on in Bali and after twenty years living with rampant corruption, the S.E. Asian Economic crisis, violent riots that brought down President Suharto, 9/11, East Timor’s Independence from Indonesia, then the short very dangerous period of high level corporate/political corruption, deceit, greed and desperation there was finally, the 2002 Bali Bombing.
At that point I had become the epitome of how to become successful without making any money.
Nonetheless, across the broad arc of experiences provided me in Port Moresby, Bali and beyond make me a wealthy man.
TV series development
Under the Volcano
Ink to Screen has developed the book for consideration as a TV series
Wendy O’Hanlon, Acres Australia
© Graham Butchart
This book reminds me almost of an old-fashioned potboiler with a modern twist, all those decisions made in smoke-filled rooms (although in these modern times, the protagonist would rather there weren’t so much smoke).
This is Martin’s story, obviously, and he is an honest character, filled with his own mix of black and white. The most compelling sections, for me, were watching Martin deal with the aftermath of critical situations—the attempt on his life, and the Bali bombing, more specifically. Experiencing the assassination attempt, almost in slow motion, invites the reader into Martin’s psyche, finding surprising and interesting reactions. Martin seems very human, and to watch his circumstances dissolve from around him is difficult and painful. The narrative very effectively brings the reader along as Martin’s confusion, frustration, and finally despair comes on.
The descriptions of the bombing are very straightforward, and effectively so. The detachment in the observers helps the reader to accept the devastation without the characters’ emotions getting in the way.
The peripheral characters certainly add flavour and give some insight into Balinese culture. The setting adds texture, adding dimension beyond the offices in which Martin finds himself trapped. I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief when Martin boarded his last plane out of the country. The courteous question by the anonymous fellow traveler was a beautiful, bittersweet contra[s]t to the lonely position Martin just escaped.
Acrobats of Reason Review USA
© Graham Butchart