Product Description
It begins, “Don’t read The Book.” All information, past and present,
is controlled by The Book, a handheld digital reading device that exists
in a paperless, sustainable, dystopian future that looks shockingly
similar to our own. Among the multitude of Book lovers, we find Holden
Clifford, a simple sprinkler fitter who is content with his small life.
Through his favorite story, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden discovers an
inconsistency between the digital version and a rare paper page,
preserved in the form of “recycled” wallpaper in the bathroom of his
favorite Chicago bar, The Library. His quest for answers leads him
quickly beyond the page to discover a secret library of books and a man
named Winston who explains the subtle, potent censorship of every story
ever written. Equipped with excerpts from unedited novels, alongside a
group of like-minded readers called the Ex Libris, Holden dedicates
himself to freeing the world from the grip of the Publishing House. His
heroic mission draws him hastily into a dangerous scheme to overthrow
the Editors of The Book and save the last remnant of printed words left
on the earth. As his mission unfolds and a haunting reality about the
government’s capacity to outwit the minds of the public begins to reveal
itself, Holden is forced to accept that the only way to succeed may be
to sacrifice himself and the one thing they love more than life – books.
From the Author
THE BOOK is a work of dystopian fiction. I do not presume to
know what the ramifications of digital books on the future of
traditional publishing will be. I am only, in good, old-fashioned,
make-believe, assuming what route the next generations will take, based
on the current state of recycling, sustainability, the disregard of the
typed or printed word, and online information databases like Wikipedia -
where anyone can edit the truth.
I find it apropos that the
completion of my story coincides (to the day) with the announcement of
the iPad by Apple. If the progression of digital music is any
indication, handheld electronic media devices (The Book, in my novel)
will become popular with younger generations and reading will be
preferred through this new medium.
My hope is that not only would my
book gain appreciation as a cautionary tale against abandoning the
written or printed word, but that it could potentially revolutionize the
thinking of readers across the world. That they would feel a duty to
themselves and their children to keep truth and freedom alive by
continuing to read from printed books and passing laws to protect their
content from censorship.
Of course, I do not wish for the e-book to
fail. Everyone should rally behind such convenient innovation. My
impetus for this story lies in the importance of the printed word and
what it used to mean for us as human beings.
To quote my narrator:
"We, the people, have learned that while there is danger in the printed
word, so is there power. In the days of our ancestors, it stirred us to
revolution. Words were honored and protected. They were spiritual and
rehabilitating. But that was before recycling sustained the world and
asphyxiated our minds."
To quote the ironically-late J.D.
Salinger (deceased same date as the iPad announcement and the completion
of this book): "Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy."
Thank you for your interest in my story. Ex Libris.
