A W Palmer
	The Reluctant Nudist

First published in paperback by Prudence Books 2005 October, ISBN 0-93557-039-3.

Murders are pretty common in Yarns Without Threads. For his first novel, A W Palmer offers various plot elements to be found in other yarns reviewed here, and has even (unintentionally) recycled the title from Leslie Charteris's 1957 Saint story. However, he has not only brought all this material up to date, but has melded the components into an entertaining tale.

In the middle of the night, textile thirty-somethings Ros and Nick book into French holiday centre le Paradis, unaware that it is naturist resort. Realising their mistake the next morning, their hurried packing and departure are interrupted by the discovery of a fresh corpse behind their cabin. Until the police can be convinced of their innocence, no-one can leave. Le Paradis is a hard-line establishment, with nudity obligatory everywhere during the day. The management allow clothing only in the evenings at the restaurant and nightclub. Initially Ros finds the enforced nudity refreshing, while Nick shelters his pubes behind a towel whenever possible. As time wears on, the attitudes shift, so that by the end Nick is the one enjoying naturism, while Ros is only happy when clothed.

The couple have a clear interest in the murder being solved as quickly as possible, not least because Nick is a major suspect. However, their amateur sleuthing is relatively low-key, and in any case Palmer has not set out to produce a thriller or a police procedural. Instead, he concentrates on the interactions of his characters, comprising mainly assorted Brits. As is so often claimed for real-life naturist clubs, the assortment cuts across many boundaries. There are high-court judges, working-class salt-of-the-earth types, chattering-class environmentally sensitive types, retired and semi-retired businessmen and a club bore. The last of these is compiling a reference book titled Naturism. The Naked Guide. Palmer quotes from this magnum opus to enlighten the reader on the naturist view, meaning or use of towels, "textile", Health & Efficiency, Cap d'Agde, exhibitionism, "clothing optional" and much more. Apart from the minimal invovlement of non-Brits, and the success of le Paradis in enforcing nudity during the day, everything seemed realistic to me.

As if this wasn't a big enough melting pot, while generally avoiding the newbie male naturist's hot topic of erections, Palmer also confronts head-on the thorny (horny?) subject of naturists and sex. He includes a scene in the nightclub, where the women wear next to nothing and there are recreation rooms in the basement for twosomes and group workouts. Through a secure door in the basement is the S&M club, and Palmer cheerfully takes us through into The Dungeon. Various characters are tempted in different ways and at different times, and some of them succumb. Which is part of the point, since Palmer is interested in relationships under stress, and supplies several neat (and one not so neat) scenes in which to explore love and lust. His descriptions of naturists and naturism are undoubtedly informed by his own extensive naturist experiences. This also helps the way this story avoids the phwoar attitude found in some other stories in which social nudity is a significant component - Palmer's nuddies are varied both as humans and as naturists. Some of them are evangelists for a clothes-free life, for others it is no big deal; it's just how they prefer to holiday.

Each of the story's four days are prefaced by quotations:

• 'Man is the sole animal whose nudities offend his own companions, and the only one who, in his natural actions, withdraws and hides himself from his own kind.'
  Montaigne.

• 'Why be given a body if you have to keep it shut up in a case like a rare, rare fiddle?'
  Katherine Mansfield

• 'Civilisation held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and conventionalities. Even clothes were a hindrance and a nuisance. At last he was free. He had not realized what a prisoner he had been.'
  Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes

• 'The body says what words cannot'
  Martha Graham

Some of these seem more apposite and informative than others. Suggestions for better ones, by email to Palmer, please!

Palmer's style moves along smartly, honed by his experience as an advertising copywriter and speechwriter. He claims "I regularly turn complex technical dullness into shining, easy-to-read copy that communicates", and I think his book lives up to the claim - see what you think of the extracts. I think it would be an excellent book to pack in your hand luggage when setting off on holiday. It doesn't matter if you have to put it away at short notice, as the plot is not as complex as it would be in a full-on detective story. At a couple of points one does need to suspend one's disbelief a little bit more than usual, and there is one scene which, despite being absolutely essential to several strands of plot development, simply did not ring true to me, but overall this is a fun tale, and I hope we see more from Palmer's word processor in future. Perhaps next time he can come up with an original title?

An edited version of this review appeared in the 2006 February issue of H&E Naturist magazine.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2005 November 19.
 
Images Copyright © various authors, photographers, graphic artists, illustrators and publishers
Other content Copyright © author Tim Forcer

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