Items related to The Millennial Reincarnations (The Millennial Trillogy)
When over the course of a decade a group of high society New York and Shanghai millennials are forced to question whether their shared experiences mean they are here on earth for a higher purpose, the answer becomes resoundingly affirmative.
With spellbinding prose and a unique sensitivity for the insecurities, desires and needs of the Millennial generation, Daniel Mark Harrison has written a novel like no other out there. The Millennial Reincarnations goes to places that neither satire, romance or thriller today dare venture, harking back to a period of mid-18th century and early post-modern literary experimentation, reminiscent of masters of prose such as James Joyce, Anne Cécile Desclos and Donatien Alphonse François.
Like the great voices that challenges the status quo in order to capture the subconscious zeitgeist of the era, in The Millennial Reincarnations Harrison paints a portrait of the areas of the human mind that are forbidden to novelists of the day. In doing so, he captures a deeply sensual and alarming innocence of mind, showing us most of all what it means to be Millennial, which he describes as "an entire generation at once emotionally detached and dependently wealthy."
Harrison explores in explicit fashion where our first ideas and personal fantasies have taken shape in this new virtual era, demonstrating in a uniquely lyrical context explicitly how these experiences have come to define our principles of love and hate, pleasure and pain, and loyalty and betrayal.
Critics have hailed the book "easily the best this year" (Huffington Post), "complex, rich, and engrossing all in one ... a unique five star read" (Mid West Book Review), "ambitious" (Il Figlio), and "required reading" (Jeffrey Robinson, #1 NYT Bestseller), lauding "Harrison's brash confidence in the privileged, fast-moving world he describes" (Kirkus) where "the female characters ... are Katniss-style strong" (Bustle). Since the publication of the first edition of The Millennial Reincarnations was published in late 2015, this book has become considered to be nothing less than an early cult classic for the Millennial era.
With spellbinding prose and a unique sensitivity for the insecurities, desires and needs of the Millennial generation, Daniel Mark Harrison has written a novel like no other out there. The Millennial Reincarnations goes to places that neither satire, romance or thriller today dare venture, harking back to a period of mid-18th century and early post-modern literary experimentation, reminiscent of masters of prose such as James Joyce, Anne Cécile Desclos and Donatien Alphonse François.
Like the great voices that challenges the status quo in order to capture the subconscious zeitgeist of the era, in The Millennial Reincarnations Harrison paints a portrait of the areas of the human mind that are forbidden to novelists of the day. In doing so, he captures a deeply sensual and alarming innocence of mind, showing us most of all what it means to be Millennial, which he describes as "an entire generation at once emotionally detached and dependently wealthy."
Harrison explores in explicit fashion where our first ideas and personal fantasies have taken shape in this new virtual era, demonstrating in a uniquely lyrical context explicitly how these experiences have come to define our principles of love and hate, pleasure and pain, and loyalty and betrayal.
Critics have hailed the book "easily the best this year" (Huffington Post), "complex, rich, and engrossing all in one ... a unique five star read" (Mid West Book Review), "ambitious" (Il Figlio), and "required reading" (Jeffrey Robinson, #1 NYT Bestseller), lauding "Harrison's brash confidence in the privileged, fast-moving world he describes" (Kirkus) where "the female characters ... are Katniss-style strong" (Bustle). Since the publication of the first edition of The Millennial Reincarnations was published in late 2015, this book has become considered to be nothing less than an early cult classic for the Millennial era.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Author:
You have a new book for which the second edition has just been released. It's called The Millennial Reincarnations. Why did you choose the word Reincarnations?The book is about a number of things. It's about the choices - or the lack of choices - we actually make for ourselves today as a result of having the opportunity to make an increasingly abundant variety of them open to us. It's also about the nature of spiritual belief and practice, and how these concepts are becoming exponentially more bound to the concepts we discover in science, such as genetics. It's about our obsession with scale and celebrity - the mass-media market if you like. Technology has driven all these events, fundamentally. By setting the story between 1990 and the present day, I was able in to mark the upward climb of the technology during the past 25 years in narrative form, too. The term reincarnation is applicable here, not just because the characters are in a sense reincarnations, but because society is in a sense undergoing a reincarnation. Disruption is a technological reincarnation, which is a millennial reincarnation in the contemporary sense of that term.
What was your motivation for writing The Millennial Reincarnations?I am not sure there was a specific motivation other than those general desires to share ideas and points in a more abstract sense than I might, say, giving a talk. But here's one thing I will confess to: about just over halfway into writing the first draft, that was when I realised that the reincarnation theme was the real driver here over everything else, since I saw how these different characters were so completely interrelated. It was a fascinating and brilliant experience!
What would compel someone to pick up a copy of The Millennial Reincarnations?A desire to see the dark side of the wee hours in the most beautiful afternoon light you can imagine it bathed in.
Are you hoping to enlighten the millennials and make them aware of themselves? Would a millennial even be interested in knowing how their generation is perceived?Of course, enlightenment is an important factor for any generation or person, and enlightening someone is the role of writing really, so sure, I would like to thank there is a benefit - however ancillary - someone gets from reading the book other than just sheer self-gratification. But also I think we are a generation not just with a little self-interest, but more or less with a self-obsession about all things us. So I think it's inevitable that the book was going to be popular. It has gone to No.1 on Amazon already in Category Fiction, and it has only been out a couple days, which sort of backs up the point I guess.
In The Millennial Reincarnations, do you dissect the millennial mind and explain why they act the way they do?A lot of people have told me, 'Oh, it's so interesting how you have a different take on millennials.' That gives me a sense of the feeling in society that while there's a lot spoken of about millennials as a culture, little opinion or insight is actually expressed in that dialog.
Some typecast the millenial generation as "too self-reliant and flippant in attitude". Do you agree with that assessment? Why or why not?I definitely don't think it's a self-reliant generation. If anything it's the opposite. That is somewhat the message in the book. The generation has a pile of cash at its disposal, but to what extent is it really in control of its destiny? More so than that of the baby boomers? No way. Then again, it's not a dependent generation, emotionally-speaking. There's much less marriage and attachment among millennials than there was in previous generations, so its independent in an emotional way. A whole cluster of people who are all ultimately dependently wealthy and emotionally detached - that's the message in the book. Why that is is really because the boomers brought their kids up to be that way. Long hours at work and multiple marriages etc. brought about a type of emotional independence among the children of baby boomers, while the extra cash they had as disposable income became an emotional cruch in a way that no other generation alive today has used money. We use it as a kind of emotional form of support. That's new.
Why is escapism such a huge problem with this generation?Well, it is not so much escapism as a lack of realism. This lack of realism is the result of all ideas - any idea and every idea - being encouraged by boomer parents who always felt that their own ideas were not fostered enough and were keen to emotionally compensate, I think. Many innovations are still in the nascent phase right now, anyway: as in, it's too early to tell if we're escaping something or building something. It's probably a bit of both.It remains to be seen, for example, how social media will affect society. We will know when it's just us - the Millennials - using it. Before that point, which is to say, with Baby Boomers still very active on social media, there are lots of positive and negative trends which will probably turn out to be more artificial. The positive side is the level of engagement. I doubt Millennials will use social media to engage as much as boomers do, which is sad, but it is what it is. The negatives though we'll find get lost with the drop in boomers are far greater. They include stuff such as PR, sales campaigns, marketing and so forth. So by that measure, the effect of social media is probably more negative on balance as an influence today but eventually, that will change. If it doesn't, it kill itself, simple as that. But it will, and ultimately it will become a more positive force. Then a neutral one. That's the point its permeated all social levels.
Why is The Millennial Reincarnations set in China?Part of the book is set in China and other parts are set in New York. For one, the premise of the story is the return of the Mandate - the figurehead of the East who would return after 9 or 10 generations and restore order to China when the elite were getting out of hand. I find this a comparable example to how life is today everywhere. Think about it - in the United States alone, it's been, since the 1980s, Bush, Clinton, Bush, then Obama - who fought Clinton - and now it's Clinton fighting for the Presidency again. There is not a lot of difference between this sort of leadership cycle and the one in modern China, where the leaders are chosen by an elite circle and sold to the masses as the best possible bet. The Chinese don't get to elect their leaders, that's true, but with the kind of line up where two families are constantly in poll position in the largest democracy in the world for coming on 30 years, you have to ask yourself what sort of democratic model that is.My point is not to get into the political argument for or against any of the candidates however, but rather to illustrate that over time, China and America have grown much closer together in the way they are set up and work, like it or not. China has broadly loosened it's cabal, while the United States has broadly tightened up its cabal. These synergies make the two places fertile ground for commentary, and sure, storytelling. Especially when it's storytelling of a more spiritual nature, as these sorts of political issues, once you get to the bottom of them, are fundamentally spiritually motivated. Policy is and has always been shoved into action by the will and desire of the human spirit. That's what makes it work. That's what makes it so powerful.On a more basic level, I suppose too I wanted to set a big part of it in China as it's the obvious place today that you hear about all the time on the news - the boom-bust economy and so forth - but you don't really get a lot of exposure to much of the nitty gritty. It's a fascinating life to read about and to live. I grew up in Hong Kong and that definitely influenced my decision to base part of the book nearby in Shanghai, which has a very similar social dynamic.
From the Back Cover:
What was your motivation for writing The Millennial Reincarnations?I am not sure there was a specific motivation other than those general desires to share ideas and points in a more abstract sense than I might, say, giving a talk. But here's one thing I will confess to: about just over halfway into writing the first draft, that was when I realised that the reincarnation theme was the real driver here over everything else, since I saw how these different characters were so completely interrelated. It was a fascinating and brilliant experience!
What would compel someone to pick up a copy of The Millennial Reincarnations?A desire to see the dark side of the wee hours in the most beautiful afternoon light you can imagine it bathed in.
Are you hoping to enlighten the millennials and make them aware of themselves? Would a millennial even be interested in knowing how their generation is perceived?Of course, enlightenment is an important factor for any generation or person, and enlightening someone is the role of writing really, so sure, I would like to thank there is a benefit - however ancillary - someone gets from reading the book other than just sheer self-gratification. But also I think we are a generation not just with a little self-interest, but more or less with a self-obsession about all things us. So I think it's inevitable that the book was going to be popular. It has gone to No.1 on Amazon already in Category Fiction, and it has only been out a couple days, which sort of backs up the point I guess.
In The Millennial Reincarnations, do you dissect the millennial mind and explain why they act the way they do?A lot of people have told me, 'Oh, it's so interesting how you have a different take on millennials.' That gives me a sense of the feeling in society that while there's a lot spoken of about millennials as a culture, little opinion or insight is actually expressed in that dialog.
Some typecast the millenial generation as "too self-reliant and flippant in attitude". Do you agree with that assessment? Why or why not?I definitely don't think it's a self-reliant generation. If anything it's the opposite. That is somewhat the message in the book. The generation has a pile of cash at its disposal, but to what extent is it really in control of its destiny? More so than that of the baby boomers? No way. Then again, it's not a dependent generation, emotionally-speaking. There's much less marriage and attachment among millennials than there was in previous generations, so its independent in an emotional way. A whole cluster of people who are all ultimately dependently wealthy and emotionally detached - that's the message in the book. Why that is is really because the boomers brought their kids up to be that way. Long hours at work and multiple marriages etc. brought about a type of emotional independence among the children of baby boomers, while the extra cash they had as disposable income became an emotional cruch in a way that no other generation alive today has used money. We use it as a kind of emotional form of support. That's new.
Why is escapism such a huge problem with this generation?Well, it is not so much escapism as a lack of realism. This lack of realism is the result of all ideas - any idea and every idea - being encouraged by boomer parents who always felt that their own ideas were not fostered enough and were keen to emotionally compensate, I think. Many innovations are still in the nascent phase right now, anyway: as in, it's too early to tell if we're escaping something or building something. It's probably a bit of both.It remains to be seen, for example, how social media will affect society. We will know when it's just us - the Millennials - using it. Before that point, which is to say, with Baby Boomers still very active on social media, there are lots of positive and negative trends which will probably turn out to be more artificial. The positive side is the level of engagement. I doubt Millennials will use social media to engage as much as boomers do, which is sad, but it is what it is. The negatives though we'll find get lost with the drop in boomers are far greater. They include stuff such as PR, sales campaigns, marketing and so forth. So by that measure, the effect of social media is probably more negative on balance as an influence today but eventually, that will change. If it doesn't, it kill itself, simple as that. But it will, and ultimately it will become a more positive force. Then a neutral one. That's the point its permeated all social levels.
Why is The Millennial Reincarnations set in China?Part of the book is set in China and other parts are set in New York. For one, the premise of the story is the return of the Mandate - the figurehead of the East who would return after 9 or 10 generations and restore order to China when the elite were getting out of hand. I find this a comparable example to how life is today everywhere. Think about it - in the United States alone, it's been, since the 1980s, Bush, Clinton, Bush, then Obama - who fought Clinton - and now it's Clinton fighting for the Presidency again. There is not a lot of difference between this sort of leadership cycle and the one in modern China, where the leaders are chosen by an elite circle and sold to the masses as the best possible bet. The Chinese don't get to elect their leaders, that's true, but with the kind of line up where two families are constantly in poll position in the largest democracy in the world for coming on 30 years, you have to ask yourself what sort of democratic model that is.My point is not to get into the political argument for or against any of the candidates however, but rather to illustrate that over time, China and America have grown much closer together in the way they are set up and work, like it or not. China has broadly loosened it's cabal, while the United States has broadly tightened up its cabal. These synergies make the two places fertile ground for commentary, and sure, storytelling. Especially when it's storytelling of a more spiritual nature, as these sorts of political issues, once you get to the bottom of them, are fundamentally spiritually motivated. Policy is and has always been shoved into action by the will and desire of the human spirit. That's what makes it work. That's what makes it so powerful.On a more basic level, I suppose too I wanted to set a big part of it in China as it's the obvious place today that you hear about all the time on the news - the boom-bust economy and so forth - but you don't really get a lot of exposure to much of the nitty gritty. It's a fascinating life to read about and to live. I grew up in Hong Kong and that definitely influenced my decision to base part of the book nearby in Shanghai, which has a very similar social dynamic.
"Introducing Daniel M. Harrison. Journalist. Author. Publisher. Editor-in-chief. FactoryBanking inventor. Serial entrepreneur. Bitcoin 2.0 enthusiast. Blockchain evangelist. And... direct descendent of the The House of Harrison, the bloodline behind money-printing business Harrison & Sons, which FTSE-listed De La Rue acquired in 1997." - Izabella Kaminska, Financial Times
"Stephen King-meets-Philip Roth ... easily the best book I have read this year." - Azeem Khan, Huffington Post
"Daniel Mark Harrison is an ambitious technology evangelist who has written a book (itself ambitious) that aims to upgrade theCartesian "Cogito Ergo Sum" for something more applicable to the Millennial era. The MillennialReincarnations is a collage of stories set between 1990 and 2014,where the theme is not so much ideological as it is governed by the actions of the Millennial generation ... [Harrison] does not just line up the theoretical or moral dilemmas of man struggling with the prospect of a future post-human or trans-human self (which is not that new in and of itself), but the author instead explores the influence of this concept today, on howMillennials conceive of their work, the economy, their social bonds, their observance of the law, their sexual interactions, their accumulation of knowledge, as well as the criteria they use to make critical decisions about the kind of life they want and the aspirations they seek to cultivate... These are certainly not matters to be entrusted to an algorithm."-- Mattia Ferraresi, Il Foglio
"A foreword explains that a new leader will arise. Jews call him the Messiah; theMongols (i.e., the Chinese) call him a Mandate. By the volume's end, the latestMandate "had firmly ensconced himself in the place of the world's next powerful elite," who would reign over the globe's most powerful country,constituting "a reincarnation of dynastic proportions." The work explores this ensconcing in a narrative with several main themes: a man's guilt over a car accident that kills his daughter and her friend; the sorority; young men whose lives encompass high finance, nightclubs, and business deals; sex,romance, and political intrigue, including blackmail and bribery; and overlapping versions of the same characters and events. Some readers may enjoy the meta-ness, as well as Harrison's brash confidence in the privileged,fast-moving world he describes ... ambitious and high-flying, this millennial tale remains bedazzled by the elite."-- Kirkus
"Required reading!" - Jeffrey Robinson, bestselling author of The Laundrymen and Standing Next To History and There's A Sucker Born Every Minute
"There are few books that can claim to be compelling, original reads;especially those that skirt the borders of a philosophical piece, a new age exploration, and a spiritual examination wrapped in the guise of fiction - but the pleasure of The Millennial Reincarnations lies not in its ethereal subjects, but in its invigorating language and sweeping examination of world peoples and influences on life choices and planetary ecology. Harrison uses bright, vibrant language, a fictional format, and a dual focus on faith and opportunity as he posits scenarios in which Millennial generations - and thinking - transforms hearts and minds. It's complex, rich, and engrossing all in one: that it achieves this feel with so many seemingly-disparate threads running through it is testimony to a story that simply reaches out and grabs its audience. Very highly recommended as a unique, five-star read!" - Donovan'sBookshelf"Pick of the Month October 2015"
"In a nod to all us go-get-'em Millennial women, the female characters in this book are Katniss-style strong. This is a must-read for millennials interested in taking a critical (and perhaps worldview-altering) look into their own generation." - CE Miller, Bustle
"Stephen King-meets-Philip Roth ... easily the best book I have read this year." - Azeem Khan, Huffington Post
"Daniel Mark Harrison is an ambitious technology evangelist who has written a book (itself ambitious) that aims to upgrade theCartesian "Cogito Ergo Sum" for something more applicable to the Millennial era. The MillennialReincarnations is a collage of stories set between 1990 and 2014,where the theme is not so much ideological as it is governed by the actions of the Millennial generation ... [Harrison] does not just line up the theoretical or moral dilemmas of man struggling with the prospect of a future post-human or trans-human self (which is not that new in and of itself), but the author instead explores the influence of this concept today, on howMillennials conceive of their work, the economy, their social bonds, their observance of the law, their sexual interactions, their accumulation of knowledge, as well as the criteria they use to make critical decisions about the kind of life they want and the aspirations they seek to cultivate... These are certainly not matters to be entrusted to an algorithm."-- Mattia Ferraresi, Il Foglio
"A foreword explains that a new leader will arise. Jews call him the Messiah; theMongols (i.e., the Chinese) call him a Mandate. By the volume's end, the latestMandate "had firmly ensconced himself in the place of the world's next powerful elite," who would reign over the globe's most powerful country,constituting "a reincarnation of dynastic proportions." The work explores this ensconcing in a narrative with several main themes: a man's guilt over a car accident that kills his daughter and her friend; the sorority; young men whose lives encompass high finance, nightclubs, and business deals; sex,romance, and political intrigue, including blackmail and bribery; and overlapping versions of the same characters and events. Some readers may enjoy the meta-ness, as well as Harrison's brash confidence in the privileged,fast-moving world he describes ... ambitious and high-flying, this millennial tale remains bedazzled by the elite."-- Kirkus
"Required reading!" - Jeffrey Robinson, bestselling author of The Laundrymen and Standing Next To History and There's A Sucker Born Every Minute
"There are few books that can claim to be compelling, original reads;especially those that skirt the borders of a philosophical piece, a new age exploration, and a spiritual examination wrapped in the guise of fiction - but the pleasure of The Millennial Reincarnations lies not in its ethereal subjects, but in its invigorating language and sweeping examination of world peoples and influences on life choices and planetary ecology. Harrison uses bright, vibrant language, a fictional format, and a dual focus on faith and opportunity as he posits scenarios in which Millennial generations - and thinking - transforms hearts and minds. It's complex, rich, and engrossing all in one: that it achieves this feel with so many seemingly-disparate threads running through it is testimony to a story that simply reaches out and grabs its audience. Very highly recommended as a unique, five-star read!" - Donovan'sBookshelf"Pick of the Month October 2015"
"In a nod to all us go-get-'em Millennial women, the female characters in this book are Katniss-style strong. This is a must-read for millennials interested in taking a critical (and perhaps worldview-altering) look into their own generation." - CE Miller, Bustle
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1533537267
- ISBN 13 9781533537263
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number2
- Number of pages318
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 28.25
Shipping:
US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Millennial Reincarnations (The Millennial Trillogy)
Published by
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
(2016)
ISBN 10: 1533537267
ISBN 13: 9781533537263
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Mar2811580007795
Buy New
US$ 28.25
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Millennial Reincarnations
Published by
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
(2016)
ISBN 10: 1533537267
ISBN 13: 9781533537263
New
Paperback / softback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. This item is printed on demand. New copy - Usually dispatched within 5-9 working days. Seller Inventory # C9781533537263
Buy New
US$ 42.50
Convert currency
Stock Image
The Millennial Reincarnations
Published by
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
(2016)
ISBN 10: 1533537267
ISBN 13: 9781533537263
New
Paperback / softback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Seller Inventory # B9781533537263
Buy New
US$ 52.25
Convert currency