Wildly comic erotic and perverse Rikki Ducornets dazzling novel Phosphor in Dreamland explores the relationship between power and madness nature and its exploitation pornography and art innocence and depravity Set on the imaginary Caribbean island of Birdland the novel takes the form of a series of letters from a current resident to an old friend describing the islandamp8217s seventeenthcentury history that brings together the violent Inquisition the thoughtless extinction of the islandamp8217s exotic fauna and the amorous story of the deformed artistphilosopherinventor Phosphor and his impassioned obsessional love for the beautiful Extravaganza The Jade Cabinet Ducornetamp8217s novel that was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award was described by one reviewer as quotJane Austen meets Angela Carter via Lewis Carrollquot Phosphor in Dreamland can be described as Jonathan Swift meets Angela Carter via Jorge Luis Borges This is Ducornet at her magical best
