Аннотация

These eclectic short works of fiction should be read as lyric essays of the human condition—comparable in intensity and emotion to lyric poetry—created out of the human spirit and brought to life by the experiences and imagination of the writer. Each story is a vignette of the human heart in conflict with itself as it struggles to resolve those human dilemmas that confront, confound and confuse us in making the choices that determine how we live our lives. The more troubling and controversial the questions, the more relevant and compelling—and important—the story. These are emotionally charged stories about things that matter—love and honor and pity and pride and compassion—that speak truth to life’s mysteries and perplexities, the only kind of stories worth writing or reading. Includes Readers Guide.

Аннотация

Over the course of several evenings, in a fashionable bar and lounge situated in the foothills at the edge of a large desert city, the narrator tells his strange story. Under the guise of trying to discover the meaning of life as it should be, he instead slowly reveals life as it is. What unfolds is a story about the dilemmas faced by twenty-first-century man, the scientist-technician in the words of the narrator, and as such it becomes the moral autobiography of anyone and everyone. What renders the story provoking and compelling is the peculiar stance adopted by the narrator relative to the events of his story. There is a philosophic and parodic tone to the narrative, behind which the narrator maneuvers, poses, postures, confounds, and gradually reveals his meaning. From his youthful pursuit of truths revealed by science and technology, to his growing alienation and estrangement from society, to his eventual reconciliation with art and the role of the artist, the narrator surveys the cultural landscape of our time. What the reader witnesses is the development of a modern human consciousness. The twists and turns of the narrator’s position are on the surface paradoxical and puzzling. Is he merely an incurable romantic, a cynic or only a realist? The story related by the narrator is fairly straightforward and clear. But what meaning to ascribe to the events revealed by the narrative is posed as a problem for the reader, leaving the reader to ponder at last what, if anything, is resolved. Includes Readers Guide.

Аннотация

These stories explore the human heart in conflict with itself, created out of the human spirit and brought to life by the experiences and imagination of the writer. Each story depicts the struggles to resolve those human dilemmas that confront, confound and confuse us in making the choices that determine how we live our lives. The more troubling and controversial the questions, the more relevant and compelling the story. These are emotionally charged stories about things that matter—love and honor and pity and pride and compassion—that speak truth to life’s mysteries and perplexities, the only kind of stories worth writing or reading. Includes Readers Guide.