Review: Death by Buffet

I read the prologue and first three chapters of the book Lost in Transmission (2004, Jonathan Harley). The book is about the author’s time spent as the foreign correspondent in India for the ABC.

The author writes in a style that comes across to me as either a hint of sarcasm or an attitude. I see this as an attempt at keeping the story light hearted with a sense of irony, which I found the article to be as well.

In the prologue the author talks about how that during the war in Iraq, reports were invited to report from a place called “Coalition Central Command”, referred to as “CENTCOM”. It is supposed to be the place where the war effort is being controlled from and journalists can get updates directly from the military. The journalists are instead shown a room full of TVs showing various news channels while the officials lock themselves in a room. “More like CENTCON” a journalist says to the author. The title of the prologue comes from the author’s observation that the only chance of death at the control center was to eat at the buffet.

The first three chapters of the book go through how the author came to be in India and his first assignment. The author is honest in describing his feelings and takes us through a journey of his emotions. First he is excited at the opportunity of working overseas, even if it means leaving behind his girlfriend. As the reader progresses through the book a sense of cultural shock begins to emerge. He has trouble making friends with the staff. When he buys his driver a sink to wash in, the other staff get jealous and the tension increases. The staff keep being pleasant as required by their custom.

The author begins to resent the constant presence of the staff employed to attend to his needs. After his first assignment starts to goes wrong, an assistant comes into his room to provide assistance. The frustration of the situation causes him to yell abuse at the poor staff member. The author then describes to the reader the immense guilt he felt.