[Gemini] is an octopus of a book, and a pretentious octopus at that. Its tentacles thrash in many different directions, getting nowhere: it is unwieldy, slippery—the sort of book that makes you think either you or the author is suffering from some form of mental disorder.

The central 'love story' is of identical twins, a lustreless pair who seem something of a burden to their author once he has begun to grapple with his good idea. The character about whom he really enthuses is their preposterous Uncle Alexandre, 'dandy garbage man', a homosexual in endless pursuit of love. Alexandre runs a successful refuse disposal business which gives the author the opportunity to be literature's Rembrandt of rubbish: the descriptions of rotting filth are indeed compelling. The book is full of powerful and revolting images….

After Alexandre's own death (and he predominates for some 300 pages) the lively poison...