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Anomie
Fiction, Multicultural, Suspense
236 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 7, 2015
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International where allowed - Ends April 17, 2015
Caught up in feelings of anxiety and of being disconnected from the world, Michael, a professor and writer, wanders through life like a ship adrift. Tragic events in his life begin to overwhelm his mind, heart, and very soul as he barrels headlong into a life of pain, loss and addiction. Hoping to outrun his demons, Michael takes a position in China, instructing robotic students who rarely understand, or grasp the pearls of wisdom he imparts.
Suspect as a typical American unable to find a respectable position, he becomes just another foreigner looked down upon by many citizens of China and a ticket to provide the Great American Dream to young women trying to escape the traditions of their country.
Drowning in a Tsunami of guilt for events that were out of his control, he feels unworthy of respect, shuns companionship and uses sex and alcohol as his prophylactics for the pain. Michael must come to terms with the admission that he does belong somewhere; he does have a home for his soul. He was the one who uprooted himself, casting his soul adrift, but will he grasp that final straw of redemption or will he continue to punish himself by withholding what he really needs?
Anomie by Jeffrey Lockwood will burrow into your heart and mind as you are witness to the emotional and mental disconnect of a man raised to respect his Native American culture, excelled in his educational pursuits, loved and lost and failed to see all that he had. Jeffrey Lockwood has created a dark tale of one man lost in a world of individuals who he fails to see are struggling as hard as he is to find true happiness. Rich in detail, filled with unique characters, many of whom are skilled at deceit or are self-serving in their generosity, Anomie is a slice of life in a world disillusioned by changing morals and standards.
Far from light reading, this tale will stay with the reader as every nuance is explored.
I received an ARC edition from Jeffrey Lockwood in exchange for my honest review.
Expected publication: April 7th 2015
Publisher: Havard Square Editions
ISBN13 9781941861028
Genre: Adult Fiction \ Suspense
Paperback, 236 pages
Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Enter to win one of FIVE print copies! Just Click on Banner to Enter!
International where allowed - Ends April 17, 2015
Caught up in feelings of anxiety and of being disconnected from the world, Michael, a professor and writer, wanders through life like a ship adrift. Tragic events in his life begin to overwhelm his mind, heart, and very soul as he barrels headlong into a life of pain, loss and addiction. Hoping to outrun his demons, Michael takes a position in China, instructing robotic students who rarely understand, or grasp the pearls of wisdom he imparts.
Suspect as a typical American unable to find a respectable position, he becomes just another foreigner looked down upon by many citizens of China and a ticket to provide the Great American Dream to young women trying to escape the traditions of their country.
Drowning in a Tsunami of guilt for events that were out of his control, he feels unworthy of respect, shuns companionship and uses sex and alcohol as his prophylactics for the pain. Michael must come to terms with the admission that he does belong somewhere; he does have a home for his soul. He was the one who uprooted himself, casting his soul adrift, but will he grasp that final straw of redemption or will he continue to punish himself by withholding what he really needs?
Anomie by Jeffrey Lockwood will burrow into your heart and mind as you are witness to the emotional and mental disconnect of a man raised to respect his Native American culture, excelled in his educational pursuits, loved and lost and failed to see all that he had. Jeffrey Lockwood has created a dark tale of one man lost in a world of individuals who he fails to see are struggling as hard as he is to find true happiness. Rich in detail, filled with unique characters, many of whom are skilled at deceit or are self-serving in their generosity, Anomie is a slice of life in a world disillusioned by changing morals and standards.
Far from light reading, this tale will stay with the reader as every nuance is explored.
I received an ARC edition from Jeffrey Lockwood in exchange for my honest review.
Expected publication: April 7th 2015
Publisher: Havard Square Editions
ISBN13 9781941861028
Genre: Adult Fiction \ Suspense
Paperback, 236 pages
Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com
December 13, 2015
Jeffrey Lockwood’s debut novel, Anomie, from Harvard Square Editions, is a novel of a man who is at odds with himself, and the very world around him. Anomie, defined by Webster, is “social instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values; or personal unrest, alienation, and uncertainty that comes from a lack of purpose or ideals.” Like the title implies, the world of Anomie is one of shifting moral codes, and of melting cultures. It is a novel of instability, personal and cultural, that the protagonist must overcome.
Academia, like most jobs, is a trap. Lockwood’s criticism of its insular nature is evident as he details Michael’s past. Academia, like the ivy that climbs the English department buildings, is also a destructive force, pulling down the very egos it once held up. Part of Michael’s ego is crushed when he loses Helene, his true love, and part of his ego is crushed by addiction. After an accident in Canada, the once promising Fulbright winning Michael finds himself with a codeine addiction, and a despondent detachment to his job. Michael bottoms out and quits his job to go abroad, attempting a rebirth by teaching English in China. It is there he hopes to find himself once again. This is the world Michael inhabits, a world that Michael cannot function in, or understand; the disconnect of Western Individualism, and the confining, cloistered collectivism of the East. Michael belongs in neither world, and does not even belong to himself.
The novel’s prologue opens in dialect, and frames for the reader how language and culture can be both alienating and an adventure. Baby Michael is being sung to, and read asleep by Frenchie, who tells him the story of Gookoosh, a story about travel, strange adventure, and foreign places. Frenchie’s dialect is heavy, and pronounced, and the characterization becomes the metaphor for Michael’s conflict. Michael exists between cultures, and has so since birth. As the novel unfolds Michael attempts to forge his identity, to bring his halves together.
We meet Michael on a train, reading great works of Western literature, as he barrels into the heart of China. Michael’s detachment is palpable, and he stands out in stark contrast to the men on the train who have a useful purpose, traveling to work, whereas Michael is locked into his own memory and past, hanging on to the very identity he is trying to escape; the life of an academic poet. Michael is good at what he does, but he doesn’t seem to love it very much. He is nominated for a Stonington Award, a writer in residence fellowship that he ultimately turns down. Mostly because he wouldn’t feel comfortable around the faculty.
During Michael’s second semester of teaching in China he meets Li Qin, a precocious English student, and the two of them begin an on again, off again relationship. After she cheats on him with Brad, a pot smoking bohemian, Michael forces himself upon her and ends the relationship, sending him off into another downward spiral of alcoholic drinking. Li Qin pops up intermittently, a symbol of his recent past, a past he doesn’t understand. And Michael’s life continues to be the same old problems over and over again. Fear, self destruction, and lack of direction continue to haunt him. And when he finally meets Avery, a beautiful Chinese woman, he still cannot let go of the past. Helene, and Li Qin haunt him still. Avery, of course, has her own trappings, one of them being her arranged open marriage. Avery is game for Michael, but it is Michael who is hesitant.
Lockwood also flashback’s to Michael’s childhood struggle with his own mixed heritage, and it is where Anomie comes together as a story. Lockwood’s novel is a story of man without a place, who has to struggle and fight himself to become comfortable in his own skin, and up until the last chapters, it isn’t clear if Michael will find himself in China, or back home among the Native Americans of Crooked River.
The novel jumps, and the storyline is expansive. Michael is a character who isn’t very likeable. He gives Lockwood a chance to discuss literature and criticize the trappings of America, the West, and careerist culture, but he doesn’t give the reader much to root for. He is restless, irritable, and discontent. It isn’t until the end of the book that Michael feels whole, feels fully realized as a person, or character. But of course, this comes after Lockwood puts Michael through the paces, giving him one personal failure after personal failure to contend with.
Academia, like most jobs, is a trap. Lockwood’s criticism of its insular nature is evident as he details Michael’s past. Academia, like the ivy that climbs the English department buildings, is also a destructive force, pulling down the very egos it once held up. Part of Michael’s ego is crushed when he loses Helene, his true love, and part of his ego is crushed by addiction. After an accident in Canada, the once promising Fulbright winning Michael finds himself with a codeine addiction, and a despondent detachment to his job. Michael bottoms out and quits his job to go abroad, attempting a rebirth by teaching English in China. It is there he hopes to find himself once again. This is the world Michael inhabits, a world that Michael cannot function in, or understand; the disconnect of Western Individualism, and the confining, cloistered collectivism of the East. Michael belongs in neither world, and does not even belong to himself.
The novel’s prologue opens in dialect, and frames for the reader how language and culture can be both alienating and an adventure. Baby Michael is being sung to, and read asleep by Frenchie, who tells him the story of Gookoosh, a story about travel, strange adventure, and foreign places. Frenchie’s dialect is heavy, and pronounced, and the characterization becomes the metaphor for Michael’s conflict. Michael exists between cultures, and has so since birth. As the novel unfolds Michael attempts to forge his identity, to bring his halves together.
We meet Michael on a train, reading great works of Western literature, as he barrels into the heart of China. Michael’s detachment is palpable, and he stands out in stark contrast to the men on the train who have a useful purpose, traveling to work, whereas Michael is locked into his own memory and past, hanging on to the very identity he is trying to escape; the life of an academic poet. Michael is good at what he does, but he doesn’t seem to love it very much. He is nominated for a Stonington Award, a writer in residence fellowship that he ultimately turns down. Mostly because he wouldn’t feel comfortable around the faculty.
During Michael’s second semester of teaching in China he meets Li Qin, a precocious English student, and the two of them begin an on again, off again relationship. After she cheats on him with Brad, a pot smoking bohemian, Michael forces himself upon her and ends the relationship, sending him off into another downward spiral of alcoholic drinking. Li Qin pops up intermittently, a symbol of his recent past, a past he doesn’t understand. And Michael’s life continues to be the same old problems over and over again. Fear, self destruction, and lack of direction continue to haunt him. And when he finally meets Avery, a beautiful Chinese woman, he still cannot let go of the past. Helene, and Li Qin haunt him still. Avery, of course, has her own trappings, one of them being her arranged open marriage. Avery is game for Michael, but it is Michael who is hesitant.
Lockwood also flashback’s to Michael’s childhood struggle with his own mixed heritage, and it is where Anomie comes together as a story. Lockwood’s novel is a story of man without a place, who has to struggle and fight himself to become comfortable in his own skin, and up until the last chapters, it isn’t clear if Michael will find himself in China, or back home among the Native Americans of Crooked River.
The novel jumps, and the storyline is expansive. Michael is a character who isn’t very likeable. He gives Lockwood a chance to discuss literature and criticize the trappings of America, the West, and careerist culture, but he doesn’t give the reader much to root for. He is restless, irritable, and discontent. It isn’t until the end of the book that Michael feels whole, feels fully realized as a person, or character. But of course, this comes after Lockwood puts Michael through the paces, giving him one personal failure after personal failure to contend with.
March 24, 2015
Anomie by Jeffrey Lockwood
Michael is a middle aged professor and aspiring writer. Tragedy seems to follow him where ever he goes. He is in search for inner peace and to find himself. He is on a bit of a self discovery journey and travels around a bit, (he) meets many people along the way, and leaves some behind. Michael's life is filled with suspense and it is really an adventure for him.
A very unique story with an original plot. At times I was not sure I liked Michael. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with him. He does seem to be getting "the short end of the stick" in life. But we get to see him overcome some obstacles, interesting people, has good encounters and faces some tragedies. I wanted to see how Michael's story unfolds and hoped that it ended well. Overall the story was well written, original, intriguing and fascinating. I do recommend Anomie to those who enjoy suspense/drama.
Michael is a middle aged professor and aspiring writer. Tragedy seems to follow him where ever he goes. He is in search for inner peace and to find himself. He is on a bit of a self discovery journey and travels around a bit, (he) meets many people along the way, and leaves some behind. Michael's life is filled with suspense and it is really an adventure for him.
A very unique story with an original plot. At times I was not sure I liked Michael. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with him. He does seem to be getting "the short end of the stick" in life. But we get to see him overcome some obstacles, interesting people, has good encounters and faces some tragedies. I wanted to see how Michael's story unfolds and hoped that it ended well. Overall the story was well written, original, intriguing and fascinating. I do recommend Anomie to those who enjoy suspense/drama.
May 9, 2015
The story is about an american professor who feels lost in his life after the death of his love. He feels that he does not really belong anywhere. He isolates himself from the world he knows and end up moving to China, trying to have a new beginning in his teaching career and love life. Some symptoms of schizophrenia shows up and at the end he finally discovers where he belongs and embraces it. Some flashback stories are made known, from his youth.
This is a very well written book that works with the psychic of the main character (Michael) in a very realistic way. You feel like you are living his story, his agony, his search for a purpose in life. Very well constructed environment, this book will keep you entertained for hours. Excellent effort and surprisingly just the first novel of this author. Hopefully there will be more!
This is a very well written book that works with the psychic of the main character (Michael) in a very realistic way. You feel like you are living his story, his agony, his search for a purpose in life. Very well constructed environment, this book will keep you entertained for hours. Excellent effort and surprisingly just the first novel of this author. Hopefully there will be more!
July 10, 2016
This is a hard book to categorize. This is the story of a man who has lost his way in the world. A man quickly rising in the world of academia until events rock him to his core and send him spinning off on a new path. A path leading him to the far side of the world and one that might not ever bring him back to his family and friends. This is a book about the journey to find oneself, no matter who that person turns out to be. The writing is excellent and this book was a pleasure to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews