Going to New Orleans

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

Lewis King is a trumpet-playing alcoholic and BDSM (bondage, domination,
and sadomasochism) aficionado. He has repeated hallucinations in which a
friend appears before him only to die a grisly death. He has violent
fits, kills a few men, and finds his soulmate in Ms Sugarlicq who drinks
as much as he does and matches his sexual passions with vigour and
one-upmanship. The content includes sex, rape, bondage, and violent sex
games, and as the story progresses, both King and Sugarlicq, guided by
addiction and passion, become increasingly despicable.

The novel’s “dirty” edge is not really a sexy kind of smut but
rather one that leaves a really nasty aftertaste. King is more bothered
by the hallucinations than the violence committed by his own hand.
Sugarlicq becomes more and more of a grovelling sexual punching bag than
a dominatrix in charge of her own sexual prowess. Neither King nor
Sugarlicq is connected to reality: in fact, they are presented as
insane, periodically arguing about who is the crazier one.

The novel is well written, shifting easily between narrative and stream
of consciousness, and between first and third person. Tidler’s writing
is quite lyrical and poetic. If the content doesn’t bother you, Going
to New Orleans is a very good read.