Exhibit by R. O Kwong [6/10]

A South Korean/American novelist with a poet’s passion for language, R. O. Kwong’s second, slim novel, Exhibit, is a transgressive tale of desire, creativity, and freedom. When a talented young Korean photographer, married to an Argentinian-born film producer, meets a magnetic Korean super ballerina somehow injured, she quickly becomes enraptured, firstly in the field of ambitious ideas, then physically. Overlaying this tableau is the ghostly presence of a long-ago Korean courtesan who might wield a curse. Dealing with sadomasochism and the presence of spirits, and eschewing easy plot progression, the novel stands or falls on the inferiority of the photographer, on the never-ending, inventive lyricism, and on its spotlight on freedom of expression. The net effect for this reader was admiration of the author, gasps of recognition at some of the language, and befuddlement about the climax and themes. Exhibit is bold and baffling.