Who among us has never wondered whether our lives could be
completely different? What exactly could we change, if we could?
From the poetry of Robert Frost to the blockbuster cinema of "Back
to the Future," the notion of "what if?" holds an almost obsessive
fascination over us. Are we shaped by fate, or by conscious choice?
"Destiny" is a series of three interrelated novellas that revolve
around a single theme: Is it possible, as an act of will, for an
individual to change what appears to be his or her fate? Can one
deliberately modify the ingrained patterns of one's life, and
thereby alter its course? In the case of each of these tales, the
central character undertakes to do this, and in each case the
outcome is radically different. The path of the protagonist of the
first story, "La Vita Nuova," is an occult one, involving
meditation, parallel universes, time travel, and a training in Sufi
out-of-body experiences. Jason Green, a rather timid librarian in
New York City, finally gets the life he wanted, but it comes with a
catch, one he cannot seem to resolve. In the second story, "The
Observer," Irene Davis is a talented artist who has spent her life
keeping everyone at a distance. She wakes up on her fortieth
birthday to discover that she is single, friendless, and devoid of
any real meaning in her life. In the course of working with a
therapist she begins to explore the possibilities for turning this
around. The final story, "The Seven Deadly Sins," revolves around
the life of a high school social science teacher, George Crystal,
who unexpectedly writes a best-seller and subsequently retires to a
small village in England. From this vantage point, he decides to
"purify" his life by working through the Seven Deadly Sins--Pride,
Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust--one by one. After
some initial success, the project starts to go awry, and then takes
an unexpected turn when George falls in love with another American
expatriate. The fact that there are three separate, and
fundamentally different, answers to the central question of the
book finally lends it a philosophical or existential dimension, one
that propels the reader to reflect on his or her own destiny, and
what the possibilities are for having the life we really want.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
March 2011 |
First published: |
March 2011 |
Authors: |
Morris Berman
|
Dimensions: |
203 x 127 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
270 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4565-3184-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
1-4565-3184-0 |
Barcode: |
9781456531843 |
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