A TV producer embarks upon a transcontinental quest for spiritual
enlightenment with a childhood friend.When Richard (his last name
is never given) e-mailed out of the blue, both men lived on the
West Coast - the author in Los Angeles, Richard in Oregon - but had
rarely seen each other since they attended high school in New
Jersey 30 years ago. The few times they met while Jackson was
climbing the career ladder in documentary films, Richard seemed to
be drifting, stubborn to a fault and obsessed with upholding his
counterculture standards. Nonetheless, he persuaded the author to
drive back East to reconnect with their past. With little in common
besides their high-school experiences and lapsed Catholicism, the
two were unlikely traveling companions. Their expectations for the
journey's particulars diverged at every turn. Richard was returning
in part to unload the emotional baggage of a brutal childhood.
Jackson, who was striving to articulate the parameters of his
beliefs, sought the mystical renewal of a pilgrimage amid the small
towns and truck-stop diners along their route. Richard preferred
not to question his private spirituality and hated to stop driving
for any reason. The car he had lovingly chosen for their journey, a
'69 Volkswagen Beetle, conspired against them both with unnerving
regularity. Plagued by mysterious engine problems, they were
frequently forced to detour in search of mechanics and parts in
remote towns throughout the Midwest. Along the way, Jackson
considered such pressing philosophical dilemmas as what happens
when we die, why science can't reveal life's meaning and whether
commitment to bettering the human community could replace religion
as a source of moral guidance. His dull but serviceable prose
offers little insightful analysis, and its flourishes are confined
to clunky extended metaphors and stale truisms. The straightforward
simplicity of these well-intentioned musings might be helpful for
young adults with spiritual longings who are suspicious of
organized religion. Mature readers would do better rereading Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. (Kirkus Reviews)
Having barely seen each other in three decades, two friends
impulsively decide to take a cross-country road trip. For one, the
trip is a chance to take a few swats at a question that buzzes like
an old bug in his postreligious soul, "What do I believe? Not just
about God, but about morality, mortality, meaning, and the whole
so-called spiritual side of life?" For the other, the journey is
the culmination of a lifelong struggle to confront a buried demon
and reunite with a family from whom he's been estranged for his
entire adult life. What begins as a mundane drive becomes a quest
for what really matters; a soul-searching, thought-provoking, oddly
mythic, often hilarious, always human odyssey, as these two very
different people join forces to keep a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle alive
long enough to reach the distant shores of home.
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