Buying the Business

By greasing the right palms, George Pidduck of the London-based All World Oil Services has all but sewn up a sweet $16 million deal with the reliably corrupt General Nasturtion, chairman of an Indonesian firm. Then disaster strikes: Pidduck's Jakarta contact cables him that Nasturtion is ``unbought frenchwise rejects fornication transportation accommodation lubrication.'' That is, the French have upset the deal by offering the general the Legion of Honor to sign with them. Pidduck in turn pays the University of Southern Arizona to grant Nasturtion an honorary doctorate, and all is again well--until All World's American competitors learn about the deal going on in their own backyard. Although this British satire on international sleazy dealing is delivered with all the cheerful venom one could wish, Henry's reliance on various national stereotypes and his unconvincing effort to poke fun at American universities render the work largely ineffective. Moreover, slips like the metamorphosis of the IRS into ``Inland Revenue'' (its British equivalent) bespeak simple carelessness. (Oct.)