The Voyage

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

This novel by the Canadian half of the former MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour is
written in prose reminiscent of television sound bites. More seriously,
the story has the earmarks of a daytime soap opera.

On assignment in Guyana, a rising star in the Canadian Department of
External Affairs encounters an impossibly beautiful young woman. They
begin an affair that lasts, with minor interruptions, for some 20 years,
during which time the woman becomes an internationally famous model,
marries, has children, and divorces. The dénouement is brought about by
a wild escapade on her part—an escapade that threatens the career, and
marriage, of our hero diplomat.

This predictable and melodramatic story is told through labyrinthian
flashbacks that take the reader to locales ranging from the exotic
(Trinidad) to the prosaic (Ottawa).