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Madness of the Turtle
On their way to join the revolution in Cuba - ten years after it ended - a gang of brutal jungle bandits see television for the first time. Their leader, Father Gerard Limerick falls in love with the beautiful soap actress Magdalena. Recovering after being almost fatally wounded, he becomes convinced he’s been resurrected in order to save her from the soap’s evil Senor Gonzales, and becomes determined to make her his wife.
The bandits travel to a film camp deep in the jungle, holding the cast and crew hostage while they wait for the arrival of the actor playing Senor Gonzales.
Meanwhile, Limerick’s disenchanted son Rico yearns for another life. Unable to be with a prostitute he loved, or to save a farmer’s wife from the men, Rico becomes desperate to save Magdalena from his crazy father and his psychotic family of bandits; even if it means crossing the most frightening man in the world.
The bandits travel to a film camp deep in the jungle, holding the cast and crew hostage while they wait for the arrival of the actor playing Senor Gonzales.
Meanwhile, Limerick’s disenchanted son Rico yearns for another life. Unable to be with a prostitute he loved, or to save a farmer’s wife from the men, Rico becomes desperate to save Magdalena from his crazy father and his psychotic family of bandits; even if it means crossing the most frightening man in the world.
- GenresFiction
Unknown Binding
First published March 25, 2013
4 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
S.R. Wilsher
9 books13 followersIt didn’t occur to me to write until I was twenty-two, prompted by reading a disappointing book by an author I’d previously liked. I wrote thirty pages of a story I abandoned because it didn’t work on any level. I moved on to a thriller about lost treasure in Central America; which I finished, but never showed to anyone. Two more went the way of the first, and I forgave the author.
After that I became more interested in people-centric stories. I also decided I needed to get some help with my writing, and studied for a degree with the OU. I chose Psychology partly because it was an easier sell to my family than Creative Writing. But mainly because it suited the changing tastes of my writing. When I look back, so many of my choices have been about my writing.
I’ve been writing all my adult life, but nine years ago I had a kidney transplant which interrupted my career, to everyone’s relief. It did mean my output increased, and I developed a work plan that sees me with two projects on the go at any one time. Although that has taken a hit in recent months as I’m currently renovating a house and getting to know my very new granddaughter.
I write for no other reason than I enjoy it deeply. I like the challenge of making a story work. I get a thrill from tinkering with the structure, of creating characters that I care about, and of manipulating a plot that unravels unpredictably, yet logically. I like to write myself into a corner and then see how I can escape. To me, writing is a puzzle I like to spend my time trying to solve.
After that I became more interested in people-centric stories. I also decided I needed to get some help with my writing, and studied for a degree with the OU. I chose Psychology partly because it was an easier sell to my family than Creative Writing. But mainly because it suited the changing tastes of my writing. When I look back, so many of my choices have been about my writing.
I’ve been writing all my adult life, but nine years ago I had a kidney transplant which interrupted my career, to everyone’s relief. It did mean my output increased, and I developed a work plan that sees me with two projects on the go at any one time. Although that has taken a hit in recent months as I’m currently renovating a house and getting to know my very new granddaughter.
I write for no other reason than I enjoy it deeply. I like the challenge of making a story work. I get a thrill from tinkering with the structure, of creating characters that I care about, and of manipulating a plot that unravels unpredictably, yet logically. I like to write myself into a corner and then see how I can escape. To me, writing is a puzzle I like to spend my time trying to solve.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 6, 2019
I read this pretty quickly on my commute and nearly missed many stops by being too engrossed in the story. And there are many pages with corners turned down to quotes I want to remember. The first being on the first page. "A grey pallor suggested a readiness to test the authenticity of an afterlife."
You sit in Rico's head and everything down to the descriptions and ideas are his, this is written beautifully. He starts off naïve and ignorant to the world around him and ends with him (and you) understanding and thinking for himself.
"I considered what we were as men, and the lives we destroyed. We were elephants in a flower garden."
Walking in another mans shoes, it's the only reason I read and what makes or breaks books or films for me. You can really walk in Rico's shoes. The way it's written has a beautiful charm against the brutal story of a group of bandits.
"My ignorance, so vast, was smaller now. It could never be small enough."
I tend not to read books more than once, but after putting it down I've been thinking about it, I could pick it back up again. And I'm sure I will.
You sit in Rico's head and everything down to the descriptions and ideas are his, this is written beautifully. He starts off naïve and ignorant to the world around him and ends with him (and you) understanding and thinking for himself.
"I considered what we were as men, and the lives we destroyed. We were elephants in a flower garden."
Walking in another mans shoes, it's the only reason I read and what makes or breaks books or films for me. You can really walk in Rico's shoes. The way it's written has a beautiful charm against the brutal story of a group of bandits.
"My ignorance, so vast, was smaller now. It could never be small enough."
I tend not to read books more than once, but after putting it down I've been thinking about it, I could pick it back up again. And I'm sure I will.
June 5, 2016
“If my dreams had been real…”
From a murky beginning, Rico grows up among bandits. He wants to learn to read and write, but the father tells him no. He did go into a classroom once.
“Eventually, the teacher asked me to talk about myself. So I told them I knew how to clean and fire a gun, clean and skin a wild pig, and how I knew the best place to shoot a man so that he dies slowly, and I knew why there were holes in hunting knives.”
I didn’t know what to expect with Madness of the Turtle. The last book I read by S. R. Wilsher was The Collection of Heng Souk. It was a book of depth and breadth, with the characters reflecting their yearnings and growth across both short and long increments of time. While different, Madness of the Turtle does represent the author’s insight into human emotions and motivations, as well as a culture and frame of reference vastly different from that of most readers.
From a murky beginning, Rico grows up among bandits. He wants to learn to read and write, but the father tells him no. He did go into a classroom once.
“Eventually, the teacher asked me to talk about myself. So I told them I knew how to clean and fire a gun, clean and skin a wild pig, and how I knew the best place to shoot a man so that he dies slowly, and I knew why there were holes in hunting knives.”
I didn’t know what to expect with Madness of the Turtle. The last book I read by S. R. Wilsher was The Collection of Heng Souk. It was a book of depth and breadth, with the characters reflecting their yearnings and growth across both short and long increments of time. While different, Madness of the Turtle does represent the author’s insight into human emotions and motivations, as well as a culture and frame of reference vastly different from that of most readers.
March 3, 2014
This is the second book I’ve read by S.R Wilsher and I've got to say it was totally different to "The Collection of Heng Souk". This one was harder for me to get into because the narrator is a 17 year old boy, and I’m not! BUT, once I got used to his voice it was so easy to become immersed in Rico's world. This book is well written and the story flows well. Like in "Heng Souk" the author has a real talent for realising places and environment - little did I know when I set out on this journey I would be catapulted so effectively to the wilds of Guatemala!
April 4, 2016
Read The collection of Heng Souk, which is written after this book, by the same author and liked it, so picked up this. Was not disappointed.
Based in Guatemala it describes the life, relations, thoughts of a group of bandits. Ruthless,murder is a matter of life to them but the strange and strong human emotions flow underneath. Ruthless, hilarious in places, it's again a story of human relations, it's complexities and changes.
Based in Guatemala it describes the life, relations, thoughts of a group of bandits. Ruthless,murder is a matter of life to them but the strange and strong human emotions flow underneath. Ruthless, hilarious in places, it's again a story of human relations, it's complexities and changes.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews