Kirjahaku

The two novellas in this collection both describe a world gone mad with a frenzied rush for profit and promotion, a world in which bureaucracy seemingly trumps all other considerations. The first novella, "So, This Is It," finds its protagonist unable to find work anywhere except in the ever-expanding government bureaucracy. Reluctantly, he finds himself employed in the Office of the Word. Assigned to do the impossible, the protagonist struggles to find meaning in a world without a soul. The Second novella, "A Fortnight of Frenzy," describes how in the midst of suffering and death, a few individuals manage to exploit pain for gain. The main character and his spouse both work in a hospital and both do their jobs well. However, the protagonist wonders just what is the goal of his job. Is it to enrich the administrators or to help the sick?

SYNOPSIS OF A CONVOCATION OF FIVE What is the value of an ordinary guy's life and who assesses that value? As Tom Albright approaches the end of his days on earth, five individuals meet to evaluate his life. They begin with hearing and commenting on a baby boomer who grew up with illusions of battlefield glory only to lose those illusions during the turbulence of the 60's. Likewise, Tom immersed himself in idealized visions of athletic glory, academic success, racial harmony, romantic love, and religious faith. Like many of his generation, his life story centers on the clash of untested ideal concepts with the blunt, inescapable forces of reality. In this examination of Tom's life, the five who form the convocation will learn as much about themselves as they do about Tom. Like the subject of their study, some will pass on to a new life.

Adam Albright had spent his entire life winning, or so he thought. He excelled in school, won recognition as an athlete, and basked in the sunshine of popularity, especially among women. He had succeeded as a lawyer and even more so as a lobbyist. All was going well in the popular estimation. However, a select few recognized that all his success lacked something, a soul perhaps or at least some concern for someone other than himself. Soon his world collapsed. His supposed seductions were revealed as harassments or even rapes. His cornucopia of cash was revealed as conduits of foreign corruption. His popularity ebbed away along with his bank account. When all was lost, would he turn his life around? He is given one last chance at redemption. Utilizing both instinctual and supernatural powers, a purgatorial mix of species are charged with rescuing Adam from himself. Will they succeed?

The two tales portray some of the problems facing many American families: bipolar bosses, unemployment, cancer, the seemingly unending hustle for money, and adolescent children coping with the meaning of the puzzling adult world. In '67 Ford Mustangs: The Long Drives, the unemployed protagonist undergoes three journeys, including a literal trip to Hell and back. As he scours the country for '67 Mustangs to satisfy the fancies of an eccentric collector, he unintentionally comes across an epiphany. Likewise, in The Oracle of Here, the main character hears or thinks he hears an enigmatic message on his annual trip into the woods. He treasures a relic of this experience and turns to it for answers as he deals with a demanding boss, a potential involvement with an international prostitution ring, his wife facing cancer treatments, his children uncertain of where they are going and who they are.