the things lila says

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat

This is one work many would like to see at the top of the book bonfire.

An erotic international bestseller, Lila Says (Scribner, $20) was originally written in French by Chimo, a pseudonym of one who, in the spirit of Primary Colors, chose to keep his or her identity anonymous.

Chimo also happens to be the protagonist of the story. A 19 year-old North African living in the slums of Paris where "nothing ever works out, everything gets fucked up, it's a life in useless little bits, in the morning you've got no idea what comes next," his only outlet is writing about his experiences and about Lila in spiral notebooks ("Clairefontaines, shoplifted"). Interestingly enough and to add a touch of mystery, this is precisely how the publishers received the manuscript: in two notebooks with barely decipherable handwriting.

Life for Chimo is unthinkingly routine until he meets Lila, a 16 year-old whose outward appearance suggests the innocence of a child but who is consumed by a fiery eroticism that Chimo is unable to resist. And Lila says a lot. "She's an angel with a whore's mouth on her," and shockingly raw details of her exploits and fantasies drift from her mouth as effortlessly as Tucson's homeless youth can mutter "Spare change?" Throughout a series of meetings with her, Chimo is pulled into her world, becoming increasingly obsessed with her and dependent upon her to help him rise to a level of increased sensation. But Lila's uncontrolled desires cannot be without consequence and it culminates in tragedy where the reader quickly realizes how similar Lila is to Chimo and all the others trying daily in their own ways to survive this bleak life.

Lila Says is not a crafted novel like more classic fiction but is a stream of consciousness where punctuation and grammar take a back seat to the passion surging out of the pen. However in this syntactic anarchy blooms a brilliant, vivid and metaphorical language of a poet who merely lacks a formal education. "The same words aren't given out to everyone everywhere. You always feel you're sailing right by a green island you can't get close to, better guarded than the Bank of France, an island stuffed with wonderful fruits, words that people pick for themselves and feast on."It is his language, or lack of perfect language, that brings the novel to such a high level of realism.

However real, his experiences seem as far removed from the reader as Hollywood, swimming pools and Baywatch are to Chimo. The absolute bleakness these people must contend with seems from a different world and a different time, but throughout the book we are reminded that this is occurring here and now.

As short as Lila Says is, it still takes some stamina to read. With scenes many will consider pornographic, it can be difficult to get through. It's not for the faint of heart, but getting through it will reward the reader with a portrait of man's most powerful emotions in completely unique terms. Pick this one up. Just don't tell your mom.