Uvi’s Comments (group member since Apr 09, 2012)

Uvi’s comments from the The Creative Spark with Uvi Poznansky group.

A year ago, the chief architect for my palace became overly inventive, which is something I welcome. He suggested to embellish the look of my tower by adding an external staircase, with each stair projecting outward from the wall—which would be seen by everyone, from every hill surrounding the city, no matter how far. At the time I thought it was a good idea, because that would leave the internal staircase as a private approach to my chamber, to be used by me alone.
I approved his plan, because as a poet I enjoy solitude, and as a politician I need to relieve myself—on occasion—from the pressure of dealing with the crowds.
Once constructed, I found it offered one more advantage, which I had not foreseen before. The staircase put those who climbed up to my office on public display. It helped make them know their place once they got here.
For the most part, this works in my favor.
Since many of those who come happen to be of the opposite sex, my interest in them becomes truly notorious, whether I deserve it or not. For a king, this is not a bad thing. Depending upon whom you ask about it, my virility is hated, envied, or else, much revered.
So now when Bathsheba, my new bride, comes to me from the women’s quarters, she does it the same way as the rest of my wives.
Bending over the sill of my chamber window I spot her clambering up, slowly and heavily, around the tower.
She stops for a minute to wipe her brow, because the heat of this summer is more intense than usual. Short of breath, she holds one hand on the iron railing, and the other around her belly. On her, the climb takes its toll.
Bathsheba lowers her eyes and gives a shy, hesitant nod to one concubine after another, as they are coming down, measuring her top to bottom, and flinging their skirts about, with a happy whistle on their lips.
That uneasy scramble to the top has the questionable effect of humbling her. By the time she arrives, there are tears in her eyes.

David in A Peek at Bathsheba

This excerpt is inspired by a painting of Bathsheba in one of the frescos based on the life of king David painted by Salviati at the Palazzo Sacchetti in Rome. Salviati moves this story forward to the time she has come to the palace to see David. This inspired me to write of the reality Bathsheba must face once she comes to the palace, as one of many wives and concubines.

"What's next in store for King David? I am sure in the third and final book of this trilogy, we are about to find out!

Just finished reading Gray Shadows and here is my review:

Like her previous books, this book is imbued by Russian culture. Author Jullia Gousseva carries the landscapes of her Russian motherland. They are lit with the memory of many historical events, and in Gray Shadows she uses this heritage as a vivid backdrop for a new and exciting action-filled suspense thriller, with cinematic scenes and fast-paced dialogue.

The story opens with deceptive calm: “Everything was exactly like it was supposed to be. So far, the only unusual thing that winter morning was the bright sun that enveloped Moscow with a surreal warm glow.” This ‘Russian soul’ sustains the story in every twist and turn from that page. on.

Twenty-eight year-old Nikolai is a “tall, fit, muscular, and with prior military experience” bodyguard. In spite of the affection between him and Olga, the difference between them is subtly drawn: “He felt out of place with these wealthy people… Over the last few years, she had grown accustomed to this lifestyle. Nikolai had not.”

He is assigned to watch over a rebellious twenty-two year-old Natalya, who has accepted a position as a translator in Siberia. Recovering from an injury from his previous assignment, Nikolai assumes that protecting a spoiled rich girl will be a simple task. But in the oil refinery plant in the northern region of Siberia, nothing is as it seems, and Nikilai hast to sort out fact from falsehood in this strange, frigid world. “He watched the bleak landscape roll by: the tall mounds of snow, the dwarf trees, and the low darkening sky.”

Indeed, with such a banal assignment, and a seemingly innocent client, what’s the worst that can happen? No spoilers here, except to say this: find out.
five stars.

Clarissa wrote: "This piece certainly does express the dancers' relationship. Now that I'm aging, it is a joy to see an aging couple, happy, despite the fact that he "must shlep" her weight (still smiling from tha..."

lol... This is one of three sculptures I made of him, each time with a different girlfriend. A dashing young man, indeed! Thank you Clarissa :)

Just because... Here is a little poem:

She:
I dabbed a drop of perfume right under my ear
As soon as I laid eyes on you, here
You dance with such rhythm, such elegant flair
I adore your bald spot and your dwindling hair

He:
I think of myself as a dashing young man
No surprise you came over when the music began
You smell so good, I feel such a bliss
Leaning over to you, can I hope for a kiss?

She:
I wore my best dress, with the arms left bare,
Painted my lips, put a rose in my hair
I love dancing with such a tall gentleman
My heart is yours, hold me tight if you can

He:
Let me lift you up high into the air
Come fly with me, if only you dare
To hang on my arm and trust every step
Let us tango together, now your weight I must shlep


I love sculpting dancing figures, because not only is the dance dynamic--
but it expresses the relationship between the dancers.
I made this piece of clay, burnt it in the kiln and painted it.

Just finished reading Beyond the Veil and here is my review:

The title, Beyond the Veil, suggests to me an uncertain, mysterious world, where you must guess at the shape of things by their somewhat misleading impressions. It is a world of fantasy, where deceit abounds. Expecting treachery, an empty armor can be sent to battle as a counter-measure, to fool the eyes of the enemy, veiling them to the truth.

In spite of his resistance Randal is dragged across town, to aid the Stepsons investigate the murder of an assassin, Belize, whose last gasp we have just felt, turning open the first few pages. Randal, the sorcerer who wishes to ascend through the ranks of magic, must read the dead, visit whatever is left of his fading mind. “Even before his palms had gone to the temples of the corpse, as his fingertips touched those cool lips, he got an impression.”

Meanwhile, his reluctant partner, Niko, has withdrawn rather abruptly from Tyse and from the Sacred Band camaraderie. “Here, in windswept Ennina, Nikodermus had repaired to heal his soul and put his life in order.” Randal is charged with bringing Niko back for active duty, with the directive, “Serve as you’re bid, the best you can… Go fetch Niko home.” Despite exchanging ritual salutations when they meet, “Life to you, left-side leader,” “And everlasting glory, right man,” Niko and Randal are comrades by assignment only, and it would take a great effort for them to learn to work together.

Then there’s Tempus, the immortal commander of the Sacred Band. “With all the portents teasing him and events goading him, with Jihan plaguing him and the Mygdonian hostage Shamshi worrying him, he chafed to be upon his way.” In a world where trust can lead into danger, Tempus is careful to examine strangers with a cool mind, until proven worthy. Of his long-lost daughter, Kama, he says at first, “She might just be a child of mine. If so, she bears watching… She’s full of deceit… Keep clear of her,until I decide whether we’ve any use for her.”

“Sacred bands required loyalty beyond question, to their ethos, their commanders and to one another: shoulder to shoulder, to the death, with honor.” Indeed, loyalty is the antidote to deceit, it guides you beyond the veil. In this sweeping epic, you will meet heroes that seem to have stepped out of the pages of Greek mythology—and yet, from time to time, you may find a note that brings a smile to your lips, because the humor in it reflects our own, more prosaic world. When Tempus thinks of his lover, Jihan, the wind-charmer, Froth Daughter born of the sea at the edge of time, “As a bedmate, he found her suitable; as a companion, she wore upon his nerves.”

Five Stars.

Just finished reading Devil's Lake and here is my review:

This book is dedicated to the women kidnapped and held hostage for ten years in Cleveland, Ohio, and so it is with great tenderness that the author, Aaron Paul Lazar, imparts this story, which I imagine must have been inspired by what he learned about the case, and by his great compassion. Part I of the story opens with Portia coming back home, having escaped from her abductor. She is in a severely weakened state, “Her heart slammed against her ribs, quickening with every mile she recognized,” and has an overwhelming yearning for safety, for home. “Green mountains surged into the clouds in the background. guarding the rolling hills of the valley where her family’s farm nestled in the hollow.” But the place is empty, except for her childhood friend, whom she barely recognizes, and because of her harrowing experience, she is afraid to be touched. “‘It’s me.’ He offered her a hand, but she pulled her away.”

Portia would like to bury the past. “She needed to forget. Really forget…. Don’t think about him.” But part of her healing is to remember. Part II of the book goes back ten years, recreating her abduction. “Shhhh,” says Murphy, in his frighteningly metallic voice. “It’s okay. You’re with me now, sugar.” We get a glimpse into the way she managed to survive the torture and starvation. “Pretend to be respectful and sweet,” she tells herself. “Go along with him. Watch and wait… If you don’t fight him, he’ll have nothing to push against.” And throughout the ordeal, she braces herself. “You can do this.”

Part III and IV, Revenge and Payback, bring a much needed conclusion to the story. Anderson and Boone work their way toward Devil’s Lake and watch for the cabin with the boarded up windows. Grace, Portia’s sister, plays a great role, which I am not going to divulge here, except to say that in the end, she and Portia renew their bond of sisterhood, and cleanse themselves of the past. It is so symbolic that they do it by diving beneath the surface of Devil’s Lake.

Five stars.

History is written by the winners. They make sure to remove that version of history that belongs to the losers. David, the young entertainer coming to play his lyre in king Saul’s court, makes this point in Rise to Power:

Hung on the wall is an shiny iron shield. I brush my fingers over the sharp ridges of the engraved inscription, trying to figure it out by touch.
It says, The House of Kish. To a naive observer it may seem like an emblem of a highly respected ancestry—but as everyone around the country knows, Saul has no royal blood in his veins. He is the son of Kish, a lowly farmer who owns but a few asses. In his youth Saul used to tend to these stubborn animals.
He may long for those carefree days. Even so, word on the street is that he did a lousy job, because the asses got lost more often than not. Everyone hopes and prays that he will do better as a king.
The worst part is, his family comes from a tribe of ill-repute. The tribe of Benjamin is known to be nothing but a rowdy mob, notorious for an insatiable appetite for rape and murder, for which it was severely punished. In a fierce civil war, it was nearly wiped out—not so long ago—by the other tribes.
For the life of me I cannot figure why the first king of Israel should be picked from the poor, the downtrodden. It is a questionable political decision—but perhaps it is better this way. In the back of his mind Saul should know his humble beginnings. He should feel compassion for his subjects, even though at this point all I sense out of him is rage and jealousy.
He is the son of a simple farmer, which makes this emblem quite pretentious. But who cares? By instinct I get it, I understand his need to display the thing, because this is the way to create history, when none is available.

Even when the winner’s version of history makes it to the books, it is modified by later generations, adding layers upon layers of interpretation. So when I select old yarn to give it a new twist, I always focus on the human aspect: my biblically-inspired characters are no heroes. They are modern men and women, who at times find the courage to do heroic acts; at times they are besieged by emotions of grief, jealousy, or overwhelming passion; and always, they ponder who they are with the doubts and hesitations that are familiar to all of us.

Here, for example, is what Yankle--the main character in my book A Favorite Son, inspired by the biblical figure of Jacob--says about who he is.

I like to think of myself as a modern man. A confused one. One left to his own devices, because of one thing: the silence of God. When Isaac, my father, lay on his deathbed, waiting for me, or rather, for his favorite son to come in, he suspected, somehow, that he was about to be fooled. And yet, God kept silent. Now, all these years later, I wonder about it.
God did not help the old man. He gave no warning to him, not one whisper in his ear, not a single clue. Now as then, He is utterly still, and will not alert me when my time comes, when they, my sons, flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, are ready to face me, to fool their old man.



★ Like reading? Get these books ★
Just released! Volume II of the trilogy:
A Peek at Bathsheba

Volume I of the trilogy:
Rise to Power

Other biblically-inspired books:
A Favorite SonA Favorite Son
Twisted

So lovely to come in for a conversation with John Tucker on his blog. A life-long Georgia native, John has burned through three wives, raised two sons, and has persevered despite being brought up in a wonderfully dysfunctional family. He is a multi-genre author with psychological thrillers, romantic Dramedy, adult contemporary novel, and an Erotica sizzler. This is what he asked:

✿ Tell us about A Peek at Bathsheba and what inspired you to write it?
✿ Name two personal details about yourself that may surprise people?
✿ What do you personally get out of writing, and do you have a mentor who helped you along the way?
✿ Have you ever censured yourself while writing, and could you tell us the details?
✿ Last Question. Give us a three song playlist you would listen to all day long?

To read the entire interview, click here:
JOHNTUCKERMUSTLIVE

Just finished reading Beyond Wizardwall and here is my review:

Tempus and his Sacred Band return from war to face new challenges, not the least of which is the challenge to overcome self-doubts as to their course of action. Each character must find a way to change from within in order to fulfill a higher calling. Yet this is a confusing world, and not only because of struggles and wars. It exhibits conflicting ideals, such as remaining true to your oath and quitting so as not to disappoint other fighters. Faced with the silence of the gods, who would not answer pleas and prayers, answers must come by searching within, to find an overriding, guiding principle.

I love it when the opening of a book offers a glimpse of the histories of its heroes, which remain obscure beyond its scope, yet provides substance and fulness to the characters. In the first few lines Niko, crushed by guilt for his past and present actions, kneels by his suffering mare, who is trying to deliver her unborn foal. “He wanted to press his face to hers and beg her forgiveness. But he dared not: if he began weeping, he’d never stop.” He starts out helpless to help her, helpless to help himself. “None of the Riddler’s other fighters had Niko’s problems: he was the only member of Tempus’ Sacred Band of Stepsons who had a wizard for a partner, a witch for an enemy, and a dream lord after his very soul.”

Even his comrades have turned against him. “We can’t keep pretending we don’t see, and let him go on on his way. He makes the whole unit look bad… Either shape him up or shed him.” His tribulations will become a test, a way for Niko to find his balance again, prove himself to his commander Tempus. But right now, overwhelmed by his mystery, all he can do is pray to a god that does not care to answer. “Enlil, Storm God of the Armies, please save my horse.”

Beyond being lyrical, the writing in this book is exceptionally strong. For each character, it draws sharp contrasts between conflicting goals. For a while Niko considers the notion of asking his partner, Randal, to save his horse through magic—only to reject it. “She’s better off dying a natural death than living on, beholden to wizardry.” Out of desparation, “I’m an outcast. So let’s end this farce: I quit,” he tells his commander. Being a wise leader, Tempus gives the wizard, Randal, his calling: “You can keep Niko safe while this fever in him burns out.”

And just as Niko comes to new point, “He found his balance, poised there between life and eternity,” his immortal commander steps in to guide him in a different direction. And as for Tempus, will he accept his lot to live on through wars, amidst chaos? Faced with a god that is never sated with spilling blood, will Tempus find a measure of peace with himself?

Five stars.

At the height of the lunar cycle, when the moon grows full once again, I give in to temptation. I go out onto the roof, where I hope, in vain, to catch a glimpse of her. And just as I start agonizing, asking myself how long can our secret be kept silent, an interruption occurs.
My bodyguard, Benaiah, comes out. I want to believe that he knows nothing about me except what orders I give him, and how I want them obeyed.
When he comes to a stand near me I spot a note in his hand. I recognize it: this is the same little papyrus scroll I sent with him that first time, a month ago, but she must have sealed it anew.
I break the seal and then, then I stare at the unfurled thing, utterly speechless. It takes just three words to get me into this state.
In long, elegant glyphs, Bathsheba has written, simply, “I am pregnant.”

David in A Peek at Bathsheba

The correspondence between David and Bathsheba is the invention of artists, whose mind was tickled to imagine how the two lovers communicated to try and prevent a public scandal. Here is the work of two great artists, Rembrandt's Bathsheba at her bath, and Picasso's version based on Rembrandt's. Compare how he makes Bathsheba lean forward, emphasizing her keen attention to the letter, and how he plays with the patterns so that the entire space is abuzz with energy.

Rembrandt, Bathsheba at her bath


Picasso, Bathsheba at her bath


Just released! Volume II of The David Chronicles trilogy:
A Peek at Bathsheba
★ Ebook ★ Print ★

Clarissa Simmens says, "I am so grateful that my poetry is able to be published and stored in the modern version of what author Carlos R. Zafon has called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books." She is the author of seveal books, and I am thrilled that this is what she said about my poetry book,

Overall ★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★

"Soul-Touching"
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry, family relationships and the universal emotions echoing in my heart, this luminous combination of autobiography and dialog between a man who has died and his surviving daughter?

Who was your favorite character and why?
Both the strengths and fraility of the mother and the father were portrayed excellently.

Have you listened to any of Kathy Bell Denton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have not heard any of her other performances, but I was mesmerized by her voice and the power of the performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The yearning many of us share by using the magical metaphor of “life rewinded,” reflecting the theme in her father’s poetry.

Any additional comments?
The combination of both the powerful poetry and performance has made this a book worth listening to many times.

Get ★★★★★ HOME
♥ Audio ♥ http://www.audible.com/pd/Drama-Poetr...
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♥ Print ♥ http://bookShow.me/0984993231

I'm waiting to be taken, but now, be forewarned
Don't you dare come near me, or else you'd be scorned--
Unless you delight in literary fiction
And enjoy reading a book with detailed scene depiction

If you let me pull you in, deep inside
Until you find yourself there, in my characters' mind
I'll make you burn in hell, ablaze in desire,
I'll let you swirl like smoke, ever higher and higher

I'll bring you down here: Santa Monica, Venice Beach
For a father-son meeting, with a blame and a breach
You'll hear Lenny, Natasha, Anita and Ben
And be tortured by guilt, again and again

Find a path to forgiveness, find a way to come clean
Find the words to explain what exactly you mean
Turn page after page, then fall to your knee
'Cause Apart From Love, no feeling is free



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Apart From Love
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Apart from love you shouldn't be
Take my book, it's yours, it free!

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And while you get it, check out the audio edition, too!
Apart From Love
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Secrets, passion, betrayal...
Written with passionate conviction, this story is being recorded by two of its characters: Ben, a twenty-seven years old student, and Anita, a plain-spoken, spunky, uneducated redhead, freshly married to Lenny, his aging father. Behind his back, Ben and Anita find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. They take turns using an old tape recorder to express their most intimate thoughts, not realizing at first that their voices are being captured by him.

Meanwhile, Lenny is trying to keep a secret from both of them: his ex-wife, Ben's mother, a talented pianist, has been stricken with early-onset alzheimer. Taking care of her gradually weighs him down. What emerges in these characters is a struggle, a desperate, daring struggle to find a path out of conflicts, out of isolation, from guilt to forgiveness.

These tapes hold the secret of the story. As one of the characters concludes, "I wish I could be more confident of its veracity and completeness. I wish I could do more. This, I suppose, is the nature of the quest for truth--even if it is truth in fiction."

Where does the title, Apart From Love, come from?
The word Love is used sparingly in the novel, which makes it ever more precious. The title comes from a phrase used three times in the story:

After a while I whispered, like, "Just say something to me. Anything." And I thought, Any other word apart from Love, 'cause that word is diluted, and no one knows what it really means, anyway.
Anita

Why, why can't you say nothing? Say any word--but that one, 'cause you don't really mean it. Nobody does. Say anything, apart from Love.
Anita

For my own sake I should have been much more careful. Now--even in her absence--I find myself in her hands, which feels strange to me. I am surrounded--and at the same time, isolated. I am alone. I am apart from Love.
Ben

Len wrote: "Looking forward!!"

Great Len!

Just finished reading Beyond Sanctuary and here is my review:

The title “Beyond Sanctuary” suggests to me a journey of exploration, setting out of known place, where it is safe to remain ensconced, to risk life and limb in a fight, a brutal war between forces of good and of evil. This is what this story, with Tempus in the lead, is about: “He has ridden at a devil’s pace out of the sanctuary, home to the Stepsons’ barracks, which once had been a slaver’s estate and thus had rooms enough for Tempus to allow his hard-won mercenaries the luxury of piracy.”

As the immortal commander of the Sacred Band cavalry, Tempus is at once blessed and cursed with his fate: “He lived interminably, though he could not sleep at all… And wounds he took healed quickly — instantly if the god loved him that day, more slowly if they had been quarreling.” Here is a delightfully pagan, mythological world, where gods have caprices just like us, and strife abounds in their realm, which is reflected in ours. There are conversations with gods, and pleas that end up neglected. When the altar of the god of war is destroyed, “‘Well, Vashanka?’ he tested. ‘It’s your altar they took down.’ But the god was silent.” In the final analysis, the emotions given us by the gods are not external to us. They become our essence. “The fury he’d once thought was lent him by a god raged inside him. Now he knew it was his own.”

The author, Janet Morris, writes with painterly images that stir the heart, and bring to mind the epic poetry of the Odyssey. “The assault on the high peaks keep came with dawn… Pink tipped arrows raced a hundred yards straight up, glowing with Enlil’s sanction, almost invisible in the tricky light of sunrise.”

Morris hovers over her magical universe, bringing attention to one character, then another. I was particularly drawn to Roxanne, the Nisibisi witch who stalks the Stepsons. “Roxanne cursed so that the snakes, once again in her service, rushed for cover, as soon as they’d slithered into her study to announce that Tempus was at the front door.” Despite her dark character, I find myself feeling for her at several twists of the story. Here is one: “But Datan’s spell worked faster. From his finger a bolt of royal blue shot out and caught her by the throat. Struck dumb, she reeled and stumbled backwards, hit a wall and slid down it, nearly senseless, crumpling in a heap.” And here, another: “If anything had won the day on Wizardwall and lost the war for magic, it had been her feelings for a youth who didn’t even know her.” I loved her pride, and her power. “She was, after all, Death’s Queen; she was eternal; she was Roxanne.”

Five stars.

Later, when I start awakening from my slumber, the first thing I sense is her touch. Or is it the memory of her touch? I fumble, I reach for it, rolling into the dent in the mattress, which is where she used to lie. I wonder where she is, and why her absence screams at me so crisply, even as I curl myself into the crimson bedspread.
Alas, reality is such a fluid, fleeting thing when you find yourself as old as I am.
Bathsheba is gone, but her voice still echoes in my head. It is still resonating around me in the chamber, whispering softly, “I beg you: show me you still care. Read the scroll. Do it now, David, because this you must realize: my life, and the life of our son, are both in grave danger.”
The scroll has been hanging by a thread from Goliath’s sword up there over my head, but now it has fallen next to my pillow. With some effort I break the seal. Even so I do not care to read it, or to deal with danger, at my age. She should know that. At his point, the present is such a boring thing for me. Not so the past: I ask myself, over and again, what happened? How in heaven’s name did it come to this?
Was it not just yesterday when I was standing there, in my court, beaming a wide smile at the sight of my handsome, mischievous little boys as they came running to me, as they pushed each other aside, simply to cling to my hand?
And didn’t Bathsheba raise the baby, then—ever so gently—from his little crib, and let me cradle him in my arms, for the first time? Was it all a dream, nothing more than a yearning for a new beginning?

David in A Peek at Bathsheba

My novel is greatly influenced by art. Here is an oil painting by Govert Flinck, Bathsheba makes an appeal to David. It depicts a scene similar to the excerpt above, perhaps a scene that happened just an hour earlier, when an aging Bathsheba pleads before David. Here, he pays her full attention, to the point of pushing the young Abishag, who takes care of him, away.



★ Just released! Volume II of the trilogy ★
A Peek at Bathsheba
★ Audio ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
"The richness of her descriptive language, to me, evokes a sense of majesty that seems, well, biblical."

Lovely new audiobook review: "Apart from Love weaves a dual spell"
Overall ★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★

Would you listen to Apart from Love again? Why?
I'll listen to Apart from Love again because I so enjoyed the interplay between Heather Jane Hogan and David Kudler, the two narrators.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Ben was my favorite character. David Kudler brings Ben to life with sensitivity and grace, subsuming his narration in the story and letting the character come forth. Ben's story is at times heart-rending, and would be easily over done but a narrator of lesser skill.

What does David Kudler and Heather Jane Hogan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The combination of Kudler's Ben and Hogan's Anita makes the tension of the book crackle with life; Anita's southern accent and Ben's underlying musicality (even to sometimes singing his lines), are unique to the narrators' interpretation of this sometimes tragic story.

If you could take any character from Apart from Love out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Definitely Ben, for his view of life as a melody with white keys and black.

Any additional comments?
A deep and complex tale, well worth hearing more than once.

Get ★★★★★ APART FROM LOVE
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Wanda "Panda" Hartzenberg is a top rated reviewer, and the author of The Struggle of Me. She ranks #11 best reviewers , #1 top reviewers on Goodreads. I am thrilled that she posted this review for the audiobook edition of Apart From Love:

Overall ★★★★★
Performance ★★★★★
Story ★★★★★
"Add to or amplify, audio adds."
Here is the review I did on the book after I read it.
Literary fiction at it's best.
This is not an easy read, nor a fast one. The reader is immersed in the life and love of a complicated family. The plot is complicated. The theme is one of perspective and in this lies part of the beauty of this novel. The readers perception is formed from multiple point of views. As soon as one perception is formed another take on the reality that is displayed is introduced.

The above is nice extra topping on literally poetry in motion. The authors ability to economically use words in a fluid descriptive manner is akin to see a master painter start a work of genius on a blank canvas. By the end of the process the observer is left stunned and awed.

I know this for this is the effect this book had on me. With almost every known emotion exploited and turned topsy- turvy, I stand in awe.

Now on to the narrators, David Kudler as Ben and Bens' dad did a masterful job in bringing to the fore, for me, what a pathetic man Ben really is. At 27 he never had a job. He blames his folks for everything. He drifts around like a hobo and assumes it is his right that his father keeps looking after him for he is his son.

Anita came to life with Heather Jane Hogan. She may not be well educated or even brought up well but she has smarts. The real type, the deep type that gives her insight into the human state of being that is actually kind of chilling. The two narrators added so much to the story, amplified it. Made it sharper, made the contrasts that more deep. I absolutely adored this book after I was a bit hesitant to start on it since I could still recall the book pretty well after reading it not that long ago. Absolutely amazing. A must listen.

WaAr.

Get ★★★★★ APART FROM LOVE
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We’re packing our suitcase for the journey ahead
Cheeze, grapes, wine, and a long loaf of bread
We’ll give gifts to the winners, share plenty of food
So excited to meet you, such is our mood!

Train tickets are ready, each one with a stub
Let’s pack Donna’s series: The Single Daddy Club
Barbara’s Wendy Darlene Comedy Mystery
Aaron’s cozy read, The Gus Legarde Mystery

Here's the Gladstone series by John, and at the extremes
Here’s James’s what-if kind of series about Dreams
Last but not least, The David Chronicles, about a great king
These are our books, which to you we will bring!

Hop Upon a Train of Stories
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Just finished reading Outpassage and here is my review:

Never before did I pay as much attention to the subtle connections between mythology and science fiction—but reading Outpassage has brought the contrasts and similarities between them into full focus. Describing an ancient world, and a future universe, both require a leap of imagination, which the author, Janet Morris, executes with such exquisite flair. In in both cases, she presents characters that embody metaphysical ideas, and fleshes them out in a way that shows their personality on one hand, and suggests a symbolic meaning on the other. Godfrey is the boss, about whom it is said, “God had a wife and children, a mistress, and a company he loved more than any human: InterSpace Tasking.”

Having read her heroic fiction—The Man and his God and The Sacred Band—I fell in love with her painterly, lyrical language. In this book, she and her co-author Chris Morris chose a different style, by design, as the language must match the image of this future universe: technological, mechanical, gritty, and constricting the souls of its characters to the point of being inhuman. ““Cox is a soldier. He’ll obey the orders he gets. And we think he might have more to tell us, when he decompresses fully.”

This description of Dennis Cox, the way he is seen in the corporate eye, contradicts quite profoundly with his internal view of himself. “He stood there for a minute, head down, thinking about pushing himself out the door. But his hand looked too pale and too delicate.” It is that contrast, between his inner fragility and pain and the outer perception of him as a ‘robotic’ soldier, that endears this character to us.

Then there’s Paige. She is smart, knows how to climb her way to success, and yet she is restless and utterly spontaneous. “Dream Date service. Paige had done it, in fact, on a dare. Her hidden, torrid, and fervent devotion to God, whom she could never have. So, she specifies her ideal man as, “handsome, dangerous, sensitive, well travelled, experienced…” which leads to her blind date with someone so different than herself, that the opposites immediately attract: Cox.

I love how Paige changes and comes into her own over the arc of the story. “It was good to be home, she kept telling herself. ‘I died. I’m alive. I’m stronger. I’m in receipt of something I don’t yet understand, that’s all.’” And on the whole, I love the little observations about the political conflicts in this future universe (that might as well exist in our present): “The cover story was something about a violent work stoppage by the Asian contingent of construction workers… The story was thin, but thin didn’t matter unless somebody wanted to punch a hole in it.”

Five stars.