June 5, 2007
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“Excited Light,” by Lynn Voedisch
This is a recently published novel by Lynn Voedisch, www.xanga.com/bastetmax journalist and fiction writer.
Like myself, Lynn is one of the tribe of new authors who know they can do better than ninety percent of what you can find on the shelves at your local bookstore, but aren’t yet to be found on all those shelves because their second name isn’t Grisham, and bookstores don’t like to take a chance on new talent.
I read it recently, and have finally got around to reviewing it. Available at Barnesandnoble.com, on amazon.com, and at other online sources and book stores. See also www.lynnvoedisch.com/ExcitedLight for other information and sources.
What do I like about this novel? I like the imaginative vision of endless, unseen forces behind normal, visible events, sweeping in from glorious infinity to aid one needy child. I like the purity of Alex’s feelings. Love and anxiety for his mother, admiration for the interesting Jack. Is this why the angels speak to him? Because his feelings are simple, central and intense, those of a human not yet dirtied by the grubby world of compromise and hesitancy?
I like the portrayal of his mother, caught in the all too familiar trap of a struggling single parent. A once skilled dancer and choreographer, Allegra struggles against her growing alcoholism only to recreate herself as a posturing doll, inwardly longing to be again a good mother to her son, yet drawn by her destroying thirst to pose as a tasty little trophy for the predatory Ralf Neri.
This is an imaginative novel, a skilful blend of the magical unseen and tragically everyday.
Now I bang in my own bit of advertising…
Comments (17)
Gosh, darn it, Graham. I’m going to cry. That was absolutely wonderful. I could kiss you! I promise a review of your book. I promise! June is just nuts right now. I’m sure I’ll have some spare time–but it’s not looking good. The latter part of June has some open time. Maybe Ill do it then. Your book deserves more than a dash of a sentence here and there.
RYC: Calm down, it’s over. Are you glad you went?
Lynn
yeah. . . how would you have described yourself, if you saw yourself there?
alright. thanks for the answer.
(so you know, i’m smiling. just didn’t want to post a smilie-face.
Loved your comment regarding the burning of the flag. Although we might not have hung our monarchs from flag poles (at least not that I am aware of), we certainly had a penchant for burning nobility!
ahoy jason, graham.. whatever your alias is.
im baack.
xanga wouldnt let me fix my account with some crap theme that i totally didnt want.
so i made a new one. add me?
ryc: Ha, maybe that’s why I feel so alone all the time. Even when I’m not alone. Incidentally, I also used to work at starbucks…no kidding.
I’ve been holding it in forever but now I can’t:
GET A GOD DAMN HAIRCUT
I’ve been accused of a lot of things, but ‘inoffensive manner’ hasn’t been one of them.
And really, it’s just the vaguely emo locks that are getting to me. Don’t have to go Wall Street, just…slight trim, dude.
To paraphrase the late great Admiral Lord Nelson: I have not yet even begun to emote. (“Fight” in the original)
LOVE your comment on the sex offender over at thetheologianscafe! It is priceless!
I believe the reason why they let Paris out again was because Paris did a lap dance on the judge. *sigh* Some people can be really stupid even if they are born with a brain.
It’s been a long time since I have read a novel. Have you read that book 100 years of solitude? It was deep, but it was a great book.
RYC: I tried to find the light over at myspace, really. Instead I just found many glittery backgrounds. And pornstars.
I am reading your book, but I have seen Lynn’s and hope to be able to read it also…, I am really enjoying the
Raven… thanks so much for the copy, I will have to repay that favor somehow.
Hugs, Tricia
RYC: Thanks for the comments on my essay. I think I’m going to re-tool it a bit and see if I can peddle it to a magazine. Everything can be recycled.
Good luck on the wedding. Lord, those things can suck the energy out of anyone.
Lynn
wow seems like there’s a whole band of writers here..I’ll make note of that!
Thanks for the encouragement and for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and I FINALLY got around to reviewing your book on Amazon last night – they say it takes a day or so to show up, so it should be on there soon!
ryc: haha – yes, the opera would be a nice cover to the child screaming – and be a nice in-your-face to all the oh so intellectual book readers who were shooting me dirty glances! I mean, I’m usually sensitive to this kind of thing, and got out of there as fast as we could, but still! Kids are kids! And no, we don’t do the over the top speaking to the kiddo – yeah, that annoys me too. Almost as much as the ‘toddler-leash’. Have you seen those things? It looks like people are walking a dog, but at the end of the leash is a little human! Weird, yo. I really need to blog about that strange phenomenon.
ryc:
“Do you not feel – I ask, for I sometimes feel it – that if you have any individuality about you at all, that somehow their is nowadays a silent rejection of you as a person fit to perform any task? i.e., you have to look dumb in the right way?”
Yes, I think that most places of employment shun individuality and/or real intelligence. Mostly because the people in charge (I’m making a generalization) believe that they are (or they want to be) more important than you–but at the same time realize that they aren’t actually as capable as they let on (in some cases). It’s almost as if you, as an intelligent person, may put their jobs in jeopordy–or you will ruin the system–be a rabble-rouser. The only way to get to the top is to play their game and most intelligent people, that would actually be capable of doing the job well, will never make it that far. I say that with the stipulation that an intelligent person would not put up with the ass-kissing. Maybe we shouldn’t call them intelligent, maybe we should call them independent and aware (some would even call it prideful). Because intelligence comes in different forms. An ass-kisser can certainly be intelligent, but not neccesarily independent. I personally feel that when I “play the game” I lower myself morally. I do not believe in ass-kissing and I’m don’t think I should have to do it just to get paid. I’m big on honesty, respect, and integrity and unfortunately most industries out there just don’t ascribe to that anymore. All they are about is the bottom line–it doesn’t matter how.
Of course, most “systems” don’t like rabble-rousers–employers, governments, schools. Being “radical” as they call it, disturbs the norm. The outcome of such actions may create a good change in the system, but generally people within the current system fear change because then they loose their security. The hippies of the sixties are a perfect example. Their radical thinking changed the way we live–but there was a lot of resistence to that thought by the people who didn’t want change.
People like us, the independent ones, have to work extra hard to make a change because all the sheep are against us–and we cannot waiver, or else that change will never happen.