Tibor Fischer's 'My Bags Are Big' Review: A Crypto Tale of Dubai Reinvention
In Tibor Fischer's eighth novel, My Bags Are Big, readers are introduced to Dan, a self-described "old school crypto geezer" who embodies a walking anachronism. Hailing from south London and now residing in Dubai, Dan drives an old Citroën and sports a Mickey Mouse watch from the 1970s, a gift from his father. The title's "bags" refer to cryptocurrency wallets, symbolizing Dan's slow but steady rise to comfort, not overnight wealth. He quips, "Get rich quick? It was very much a get slightly comfortable slowly deal."
Dubai as a Crossroads for Reinvention
Dan portrays Dubai as "a cross between Las Vegas, an airport departure lounge and a pirate bay," a magnet for low-status westerners seeking to reinvent themselves. He lists examples like assistant masseurs from second division football clubs, taxi drivers, linen porters, nail technicians, dog groomers, and life coaches, all finding their way through the "pearly gates" of this vibrant city. Dan himself fits this mold, having moved from Catford to Dubai after a tumultuous career in sports management, a failed romance with a quantum physicist, and fleeting encounters with David Bowie.
The novel is peppered with amusing oddballs, such as a character in an international bollard appreciation society and another who superstitiously smears caviar on lottery tickets to "give it a taste of wealth." While the plot revolves around expat wheeler-dealers and their shenanigans, it's Dan's narrative voice that truly drives the story. He is a sleazy, irreverent raconteur who delights in sardonic hyperbole, whether praising the Emirati criminal justice system or mocking self-help rhetoric.
A Voice of Cynical Humor and Relentless Shtick
Fischer crafts Dan as a companionable storyteller, though his relentless shtick can evoke the strained jocularity of a cruise ship entertainer. Dan's tales are interspersed with catchphrases like "It was a different era" and "You arrive unprepared," which feel like world-weary sighs. His aphoristic pronouncements are backed by bored citations, such as "Someone said so, somewhere, sometime." Amidst the humor, there are melancholic musings on ageing, divorce, and death, but these remain unsentimental, reflecting Dan's pragmatic outlook.
Dan takes nothing seriously, especially cryptocurrency, stating, "I'm here for the loot and the laughs. It's fun to throw a brick through a window. Revolutions don't turn the world upside down ... They change things a little." He and his crypto brethren could be seen as avatars for what remains of social mobility in 21st-century Britain, but such an earnest interpretation would clash with the novel's spirit. Instead, Dan is a study in stubborn immutability, exemplified by his insistence on calling Jaffa Cakes "Jaffa biscuits" despite a 1991 court ruling.
Fischer's Literary Evolution and Enduring Voice
Fischer, just a few years older than his narrator, first made a literary splash in the 1990s with novels like The Thought Gang, a surreal caper about a philosopher turned bank robber. Thirty years later, he presents another renegade chancer in Dan. The storytelling is zippier here, with absurdism slightly dialed down, but the jaunty voice and cynical, wisecracking comic sensibility remain unchanged. The Mickey Mouse watch serves as a metaphor for Dan's resilience: "Not sure what entirely, but it says something. Cheap junk, granted. Well battered. But it works. Still in the game."
My Bags Are Big by Tibor Fischer is published by Salt (£10.99), offering a witty exploration of expat life, crypto culture, and the enduring nature of character in an ever-changing world.
