Autumn Shadows in August

Robert W. Norris
Lulu Press, Inc. (2006)
ISBN 1411672976
Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (7/06)

“Autumn Shadows in August” is truly a novel that brings one through the course of a life, with an ending that is much more revealing than expected. This is the story of a man who spent the early years of his life constantly searching for a place to fit in, yet never truly found it, and takes you along the deep and uprooted path of his previous years.

His early life is filled with drugs and hallucinogens that may have upset the world as we know it, but have led the main character, David Thompson, to the path for which he was destined. As he and his beloved wife travel through Europe, they find the meaning of their own lives within their experiences of many countries. Kaori, Thompson’s wife, is a Japanese woman who was always lost too, until later in life she blossomed into a comfort zone which included her husband. Thompson, referred to by Kaori as “honey-chan,” was never sure where he was destined to end up in life. Being hit with the normal trials of mid-life, he and his wife have other issues they have faced that help to give them a better perspective on life.

She is a cancer survivor and he is bearing the medical problems of hepatitis. They come to grips with the realization that they not only are older, but have found a way to realize the comforts they have always searched for in life. In this combination love story and mid-life coming of age novel, Robert Norris shares the outside influences of this exceptional couple and the innermost, deepest feelings that are sometimes enhanced by hallucinogens. They find not only their own, individualized purpose in life through a travel of the past, but they also find the soul-touching need and care for each other as a couple. Meeting many people from David’s past, Kaori and the reader gain a sense of self worth from the intense friendships David has formed with people throughout Europe.

This absolutely breath-taking novel brings the reader to a whole new level of understanding life. It will not only stir your own realizations of where your life has taken you, but also open your mind and heart to new adventures.

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