Shades: The Whole Story of Doctor Tin

Susan Patrick is a librarian at Ryerson University.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. Walmsley has woven a surreal
tale full of fantastic images and memorable characters, but some readers
may find the descriptions of sexual violence, domination, humiliation,
and voyeurism a bit strong. This sequel to Walmsley’s earlier novel,
Doctor Tin, continues the story of the eponymous former rock star turned
sexual slave turned vicious revenge killer, and his nemesis, detective
(“Quick Draw”?) McGraw.

Walmsley’s satire juxtaposes the realism of the hardboiled detective
novel with completely bizarre characters and events—people with
mystical powers who are killed and yet live, rock stars who physically
explode on stage, a woman who turns into a red wolverine, a game of
snakes and ladders in which the loser dies. Adding to the book’s
hallucinatory quality are the multiple perspectives and the narrative
jumps back and forth in time. Gradually, all the pieces fit together and
the full story is revealed.

In the middle section of the book, Doctor Tin is reprinted, in full, on
the lower half of the page. It is difficult to keep the two stories
straight, which may well be the intention but is annoying nevertheless.
Love it or hate it, Shades is not easily forgotten.