Review of Souljourner
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Jackie Kook
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- Latest Review: Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone
Review of Souljourner
[Following is a volunteer review of "Souljourner" by Paul Steven Stone.]
With an ending worthy of the finest M. Night Shyamalan movie, Souljourner bursts onto the scene with intrigue, lies, murder, karmic connections, and layers of intricacy for the reader to unravel. Both satisfying and unfinished, the plot pulls loose strings from whole cloth and protagonist David Worthington creates a chaotic exposition of the core points of his spirituality that will guide the reader through his life. The reader is immediately pulled intimately into the story as a reincarnation of David, who speaks to the reader as a future version of himself who he is trying to warn of the pitfalls he encountered with fellow travelers along his karmic path. As a sojourner takes up temporary residence in a place, so David uses “Souljourner” to indicate that the reader is his spirit in a new body without the benefit of memories from previous lives.
In at least one of these previous lives, that of David’s own, the spirit of the reader is a convicted murderer with an inescapable karmic nemesis: Blossom.
As David narrates his life in an effort to warn his future self away from Blossom and enjoy a rich life with his true soul mate, he is interrupted by other members of his “Karmic Pod” who provide their own bits of information. Blossom is one such interrupter, describing her treatment at the hands of her lying husband. Another is prison psychologist Russell Rivers, whose intense dislike of David appears unfounded and is admittedly professionally unethical. Even David’s soul mate, Anna in his incarnation, makes a few appearances to provide additional details and support for his story and its importance to the reader’s life. Having been convicted of murdering his wife and soul mate Anna, David is being counseled by Dr. Rivers as he serves his life sentence in prison, haunted both literally and figuratively by the ghost of his dead second wife, Blossom. The result is a riotous, confusing, intriguing peek into David’s existence that highlights his desire to provide fulfillment and happiness to his future self.
Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone is fascinating in its attempt to make profound spiritual dogma understandable to average readers. The story is well-written and exceptionally well-edited. The main characters are compelling and understandable, if not always relatable. David seems the most constant and unsurprising of the cast, opening himself to the reader in a “take it or leave it” manner that manages to come across as sincere instead of passive-aggressive. Despite the inexplicable and ridiculous situations in which he finds himself, David always keeps his composure and maintains a calm that is at times puzzling and admirable.
The main problem with the book was the continual jump between storylines. However, I grant that this was necessary to a large degree for the reader to get a feel for David’s earnest honesty and to support the underlying spiritual concepts. The book seems intentional in its use of shifting narrators and leaps between events in David’s life as mechanisms to advance the plot.
I rate Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone 4 out of 4 stars. It is a highly enjoyable, if dense, novel that leaves enough loose ends to allow for further installments but ties up enough to give the reader a satisfying and unexpected conclusion. Although not part of the story itself, I especially appreciated the glossary of terms at the end since I am not familiar with Buddhist teachings or many of the concepts used to great effect in the story.
This book is suitable for mature audiences because it does detail specific sexual acts and uses obscene language. Readers open to learning about Buddhism would likely enjoy this book, as would those who like murder mysteries, intrigue, suspense, and humor. Fans of character-driven stories would also enjoy this book given its limited cast and compelling character arcs. At its heart a love story, Souljourner may also appeal to readers who believe in soul mates and searching for “the one” throughout multiple lifetimes.
******
Souljourner
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
With an ending worthy of the finest M. Night Shyamalan movie, Souljourner bursts onto the scene with intrigue, lies, murder, karmic connections, and layers of intricacy for the reader to unravel. Both satisfying and unfinished, the plot pulls loose strings from whole cloth and protagonist David Worthington creates a chaotic exposition of the core points of his spirituality that will guide the reader through his life. The reader is immediately pulled intimately into the story as a reincarnation of David, who speaks to the reader as a future version of himself who he is trying to warn of the pitfalls he encountered with fellow travelers along his karmic path. As a sojourner takes up temporary residence in a place, so David uses “Souljourner” to indicate that the reader is his spirit in a new body without the benefit of memories from previous lives.
In at least one of these previous lives, that of David’s own, the spirit of the reader is a convicted murderer with an inescapable karmic nemesis: Blossom.
As David narrates his life in an effort to warn his future self away from Blossom and enjoy a rich life with his true soul mate, he is interrupted by other members of his “Karmic Pod” who provide their own bits of information. Blossom is one such interrupter, describing her treatment at the hands of her lying husband. Another is prison psychologist Russell Rivers, whose intense dislike of David appears unfounded and is admittedly professionally unethical. Even David’s soul mate, Anna in his incarnation, makes a few appearances to provide additional details and support for his story and its importance to the reader’s life. Having been convicted of murdering his wife and soul mate Anna, David is being counseled by Dr. Rivers as he serves his life sentence in prison, haunted both literally and figuratively by the ghost of his dead second wife, Blossom. The result is a riotous, confusing, intriguing peek into David’s existence that highlights his desire to provide fulfillment and happiness to his future self.
Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone is fascinating in its attempt to make profound spiritual dogma understandable to average readers. The story is well-written and exceptionally well-edited. The main characters are compelling and understandable, if not always relatable. David seems the most constant and unsurprising of the cast, opening himself to the reader in a “take it or leave it” manner that manages to come across as sincere instead of passive-aggressive. Despite the inexplicable and ridiculous situations in which he finds himself, David always keeps his composure and maintains a calm that is at times puzzling and admirable.
The main problem with the book was the continual jump between storylines. However, I grant that this was necessary to a large degree for the reader to get a feel for David’s earnest honesty and to support the underlying spiritual concepts. The book seems intentional in its use of shifting narrators and leaps between events in David’s life as mechanisms to advance the plot.
I rate Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone 4 out of 4 stars. It is a highly enjoyable, if dense, novel that leaves enough loose ends to allow for further installments but ties up enough to give the reader a satisfying and unexpected conclusion. Although not part of the story itself, I especially appreciated the glossary of terms at the end since I am not familiar with Buddhist teachings or many of the concepts used to great effect in the story.
This book is suitable for mature audiences because it does detail specific sexual acts and uses obscene language. Readers open to learning about Buddhism would likely enjoy this book, as would those who like murder mysteries, intrigue, suspense, and humor. Fans of character-driven stories would also enjoy this book given its limited cast and compelling character arcs. At its heart a love story, Souljourner may also appeal to readers who believe in soul mates and searching for “the one” throughout multiple lifetimes.
******
Souljourner
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Souljourner by Paul Steven Stone
