A lighthearted, modern look at the appeal and boundaries of a perfect world.
By Larry Lockridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2023
A group of adventurers is determined to revive an old utopian society in Lockridge’s comic novel, the fourth in a series. In 2050, an unnamed researcher presents his findings on the utopian communities of New Harmony, Indiana. This researcher is the grandson of Sam Coverdale, the founder of the most recent of these failed communities, the New Harmony Institute. The seven key players in this venture are two couples, the Schillers and the Gordons, plus the Gordons’ daughter Allegra, Coverdale, and Coverdale’s psychologically damaged son Hartley. As they try to avoid the mistakes of the past utopian communities, they uncover an encoded scroll in a labyrinth, host a grand pageant, and discover a plague that could potentially wipe out all the trees in the world.
Mostly, the interactions between these aging intellectuals force them to contemplate the timelessness of marriage, parenthood, suicide, and life on Earth. The author’s writing is as vivid as it is frenetic. One chapter starts with: “While others met to lick wounds at Le Pool Hall, Allegra sped in the Pathfinder to the shrine of the Dalai Lama’s brother, a few miles south of Bloomington. She was bewildered to find the shrine surrounded by thirty-three men in red fezzes peddling mini-cycles in intricate circular patterns.” The novel has multiple layers of storytelling and its secrets are slowly revealed. There is more fun than plot, but each page is full of humor, literary references, and genuine questions about how we should live.
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Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781771806169
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Iguana Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2023