About this Item
First edition, 1st printing. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in AS NEW condition. "Composed of two companion novellas, THE EMPTY CHAIR is a profound, heart-wrenching piece of spiritual storytelling from Bruce Wagner, the internationally acclaimed author of such novels as Dead Stars and Force Majeure. In FIRST GURU, a fictional Wagner narrates the tale of a Buddhist living in Big Sur, who achieves enlightenment in the horrific aftermath of his child's suicide. In SECOND GURU, Queenie, an aging wild child, returns to India to complete the spiritual journey of her youth. Told in ravaged, sensuous detail to the author-narrator by two strangers on opposite sides of the country, years apart from each other, both stories illuminate the random, chaotic nature of human suffering and the miraculous strength of the human spirit. A deeply affecting and meditative reading experience, THE EMPTY CHAIR is an exquisitely rendered, thought-provoking, and humbling new work." [jacket copy] "In this new collection of two novellas, a fictionalized Wagner sits down with two disparate characters who have undergone traumatic spiritual journeys, interviewing them over the course of a few days. In 'First Guru,' a gay man explains his love of Jack Kerouac, and narrates the story of his life, from being molested in a Catholic church to marrying a woman and having a child with her, to finally ending up where Wagner finds him, sleeping in and operating his book-van lending library. 'Second Guru' concerns a woman, Queenie, on a trip to India, as she reconnects with her old flame, Kura, after battling with depression and the aftermath of an abusive relationship, in search of his former spiritual guide. The collection is aptly named, as the metaphor of the empty chair comes to mean radically different things for each of the protagonists and their journeys toward and away from Buddhism. Throughout the interviews, Wagner interjects descriptions of his subjects, lending believability to the format, and the dialogue is spot-on--especially when Queenie ruminates on her fantasies of self-obliteration. Ultimately a quiet, brooding collection, Wagner's book deftly illustrates how the quest for spirituality and self-realization underscore one's understanding of the purpose of life."--Publisher's Weekly. "Remarkable. THE EMPTY CHAIR would make a fine fictional companion to the Trappist monk Thomas Merton's writings on spiritual outrage. The soul's cry beneath that rage is the gold Wagner has mined here, and he delivers it to us with a beneficent and magisterial touch."--Dani Shapiro, The New York Times Book Review. "He is a visionary posing as a farceur."--Salman Rushdie. Pristine hardcover w/brilliant corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding, wrapped in a handsome, intact jacket. Seller Inventory # RUB2362
Contact seller
Report this item
