Tag Line- Bad is the new good.
The novel tells the story of an undercover agent working for a secret Europe-wide agency. His real name remains a mystery but he commonly uses the pseudonym Harry Salt. The story starts with the apparent death of his former mentor (Klingferm) in an apparent elevator accident. He suspects foul play, and his investigations lead him around various states of Europe. In the course of these peregrinations, he seems to be tracked by an unknown stalker. He is also hindered by the fact that practically everyone he meets has a serious character flaw and/or mental deficiency. Another ongoing problem is his inability to acquire or hang onto a decent pair of shoes, primarily as all shoes in the "United States of Europe" are made of vegetable matter.
Examples of incompetence in the world around the agent are:
- Records that are incomplete, or contradict other documents
- Cops who obliterate all evidence by walking casually through a crime scene
- Inaccurate local guides and transport
- People who can't work the basic equipment they are paid to use.
The concept behind the story is similar to that of Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron.
The plot appears to be based on the film The Third Man. The film is mentioned in the drunken conversation between Salt and Klingferm near the start of the book.
Characters
- Harry Salt/Harry Tequila/Harry Pepper/Cardew Vascular: The main protagonist. Years of dealing with stupidity have left him somewhat cynical. One of the few characters who is not incompetent or mentally retarded. Harry in his behavior is neither good nor bad. He can be petty and shallow when faced with coping with the ordeals of his life. On the other hand his attempts to uncover the truth are admirable as this is made next to impossible by the stupidity of others. Overall Harry is a good man with a perhaps a smidge too much of self resentment and cynicism. Nevertheless he is an intelligent man (or at least more intelligent than the average citizen of his world) and is good at working things out from what he is given to work with.
- Klingferm: His former mentor and fellow agent. Later revealed to be an undercover American agent trying to interfere with the operation of Europe.
- Captain Zuccho: An Italian police captain who, by his own admission, sometimes becomes "a bit too frisky". Usually ending with him firing several rounds of his gun. Despite this Zuccho is not a bad man. Although often irrational and angry he is able to track Harry down when he discovers his I.D's are fake and again when he does not show up for his trial after been given bail. He witnesses Harry and Klingferm's encounter and is able to intervene. He never fully learns about who Harry works for but agrees to forget about the encounter. He is reputedly on Prozac, but despite this he is still unable to control his anger.
- Gina Pallister: A guest liaison who suffers from SIR (Sexually Inappropriate Response), and an object of Harry's lust.
- Mamma: An old woman who was widowed when the authorities (incompetently) declared her husband legally dead.
- Pappa: Mamma's (late) husband. A man who has to live in the shed because the house is just for the "living".
- Twinkle: A 100+ year old male lap dancer.
- Wolfie: A professional henchman with very bad breath.
- Dr Rutter: A coroner whose hobbies include stitching faces to the buttocks of cadavers.
See also
Incompetence is also the name of Jeremy Cameron's biography. It is often confused with Rob Grant's novel.This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday June 21, 2008 at 13:45:08 PDT (GMT -0700)
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