Resurrection Flowers

by H.C. Turk

A construction worker named Rod Hill is killed only to be found alive the next day. Doctors consider his revival miraculous. He becomes enormously famous as the Resurrected Man, traveling the world to discover the truth of his return from the dead. * After Rod comes back to life, an FBI agent (Vernon Nielsen) is sent to scrutinize Rod for signs of fraud. Vernon is convinced that Rod is genuine. Vernon's wife, Ethel, establishes a web-site for the Resurrected Man. Using unauthorized FBI gear, the Nielsens plant a video camera on Rod. Millions of people view his every movement. In the European nation of Kharnstan, members of a religious cult learn of Rod Hill. A priestess, Aeva Tbolski, is sent to America to analyze Rod's spirit. If he is either ghost or demon, Aeva will return him to the afterlife. Trying to account for his survival, Rod ventures to areas of living and dying across the A corpse-revival ritual in Africa. The birth of a child in Europe. An assisted suicide in America. He receives funding from his adherents, who study their computers for news of the returned man. Aeva becomes Rod's companion. Though Aeva saves Rod's life in Africa, she still must decide if he is worthy of life. In this quirky, unique novel, which is driven by both humor and intelligence, Rod stumbles between living and dying, creating an astonishing mess in between. Though rife with events stemming from passion and personal conflict, RESURRECTION FLOWERS is not sensationalist, but substantial, and memorable in its sentiment.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2009

About the author

A: This is hard.
Q: Why is making a bio so hard for you?
A: Because it's like talking. I don't like to talk; I like to write.
Q: But people want to know about authors. Reading a book requires a lot of effort.
A: Writing one ain't exactly playtime.
Q: That's better. Go ahead, tell us more. Did you have a pleasant childhood?
A: Ask my dog; he was there.
Q: Your dog is stuffed. He's not a real dog.
A: He's more real than you are. You can’t even ask a good question.
Q: Here’s one: Why should people read your books?
A: Because my puppy will be sad if they don’t.
Q: We need to get serious here. How many novels have you written?
A: 33.
Q: I’ll bet your dog can’t count that high. How long have you been writing?
A: I’ll answer if you promise not to kick my dog again (metaphorically).
Q: He wouldn’t feel it—he’s stuffed.
A: If someone kicked the stuffing out of you, I bet you wouldn’t enjoy it.
Q: Would I enjoy it more than reading one of your books? Or would it be equally painful?
A: You’re cruel to dogs AND to authors.
Q: If you answer my last question, I promise to be nice. How many years have you been writing?
A: [mumbles]
Q: That’s pathetic.
A: Why don’t you ask me about my stories?
Q: Stories are for campfires.
A: The basis of history’s greatest novels is the story: the story of nations, cultures, families, individuals. The greatest idea that can be expressed in fiction is story.
Q: Great, so tell me about your characters.
A: Dull and Dumb are not two of my characters, or characteristics.
Q: Do you ever write about animals, stuffed or not?
A: Rescued greyhounds in Heaven Again, tiny ponies in Only The Impassioned, mudfish in Resurrection Flowers, ghosts in An Atmosphere Of Angels.
Q: Ghosts aren’t animals, they’re unsettled spirits. If ghosts continue to read, what will they find in your novels?
A: They will find passion, idea, and spirited characters whose lives are a story. And puppies.

Reviews

[Charles Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Florida construction worker Rod Hill takes a bullet in the chest, and ends up in the morgue, where the next day, he wakes up. Doctors are puzzled, and the government is interested enough to send FBI agent Vernon Nielsen to investigate and see if Rod might be a fraud. Vernon and his wife believe in the Resurrected Man—going so far as the wife establishing a web site where resurrection adherents can follow Rod’s daily movements. In the meantime, a religious cult in Europe dispatches Aeva Tbolski to determine whether or not Rod’s a demon or spirit, in which case she is to send him back to the afterlife. Instead, she becomes his companion, accompanying him on his quest to find out why he survived what should have been a fatal attack.
If you like your fiction wacky, you’ll enjoy Resurrection Flowers by H. C. Turk. Along with the often slapstick humor, though, there are touches of the metaphysical and philosophical. It wanders a bit, as Rod and Aeva stumble from adventure to misadventure. At the end, I wasn’t really sure what the point was, but it was a relatively interesting read that I give three and a half stars.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must admit that this book has an interesting plot. Someone who dies but isn’t dead. Rod, a construction worker, finds himself in this position. He travels the world. He meets up with Aeva, a foreign born who tries to figure out whether he is worthy enough to keep his second chance at life or should be sent back to wherever. The book covers a lot of territory, and often it is difficult to really figure out who is who, where they are or how they go there. The author uses very erudite language throughout, which can make it difficult for the average reader as well as making the book rather stilted. I found myself stopping routinely to reread sentences and/or paragraphs to be sure I really understood what was going on, what was being said or described and so forth. Though at first glance this book might appear to be written for the average reader, once the reader gets into it, he will find that, due to some of the phraseology used as well as some of the images presented this is not a book for some—who might take offense at what is being said and going on. I do think the basic idea of the story is intriguing, to say the least, but I think the overall execution could use some work to make it more appealing to the average reader. I received this book from Library thing to read and review.

[Haley Whitehall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise of this book better than the book itself mainly to do with the author's writing style. The plot is very interesting. Rod, a construction worker, dies but isn't dead. He travels the world. He meets up with Aeva, a foreign born who tries to figure out whether he is worthy enough to keep his second chance at life.

The book was hard for me to get into at first. It is written in fancy language which is often difficult to read and at times sentences were hard to understand. The book involved many places and my brain couldn't keep up with the constant changes. I had to work hard to figure out who is who, where they are, and how they go there.

This book will give you a headache if you're not up for a challenging read. It is clearly not written for the average casual reader.

Note: I received a free copy of this book to read and review.