In this evocative novel, Solomon Deheftner achieves fame as a stage magician and escapologist in the tradition of the Great Houdini. But he abandons that career to search for something far more elusive: the profound magic inherent in mystical transcendence. Using his knowledge of conjuring and his Jewish upbringing as a foundation, Deheftner makes his way from New York to San Francisco, probing the secrets of Yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, animal intelligence, bondage, and sadomasochism in his quest for spiritual enlightenment.

A novel about a family even more dysfunctional than the one you grew up in. Will's Surreal Period is a richly satisfying tale-at times laugh-out-loud hilarious and at times deeply moving-that features a rollickingly dysfunctional family, a seemingly endless array of succulent foodstuffs, and a brain tumor that transforms a mediocre painter into a virtuoso. Now toss in a smidgen of BDSM and a few beguiling tidbits exploring brain chemistry and human evolution, and you have a story that will hook you fast and captivate you till the end. "Will's Surreal Period proves why works of fiction are high art. . . . Robert Steven Goldstein deftly converts our raw human foibles into emotive entertainment and, as he does, reminds us, sometimes painfully, sometimes hilariously, who we are." -MICHAEL J. COFFINO, award-winning author of Truth Is in the House

In this evocative novel, Solomon Deheftner achieves fame as a stage magician and escapologist in the tradition of the Great Houdini. But he abandons that career to search for something far more elusive: the profound magic inherent in mystical transcendence. Using his knowledge of conjuring and his Jewish upbringing as a foundation, Deheftner makes his way from New York to San Francisco, probing the secrets of Yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, animal intelligence, bondage, and sadomasochism in his quest for spiritual enlightenment.