Son of a Book

For those that have been following this blog, I mentioned my son and the fact that I had given the name of my first novel as his second name. Even better, he went on to give that name to his son. So whatever happens to my novel, the name will live on.

That's the good news. The rest is not history because it is not yet finished and thus far it has been turned down by one publisher. Nevertheless the name is great and I live in hope. Meanwhile here's an outline of the novel that I wrote about 40 years ago:


Outline of the novel:

MALEO

This work is concerned with the present state of the individual. Maleo, a young fortunate man, cannot except the future. To him the future is unlikely to exist. His reasons for this belief are simple. Power of his thoughts and actions have outstripped his natural 'religious' being.

In Maleo's room the pattern on the wallpaper assumes another guise, that of Maleo's all-powerful consciousness. Maleo sits and awaits his demise. A death carried out by himself although he is unable to stop it - the power of his consciousness being such that it is able to carry on without him. He tries to avoid his death by continuing the inane practice of the present man. Minute attention to all things in order that they can be explained. Series of objects to be overcome before we have lived. As the momentum gathers strength and he is quite ready to accept death, Maleo collapses. A moth seen so minutely that it becomes a source of terror, causes him to faint.

Whilst in a state of collapse he dreams or senses certain fables, myths and well-known scenes pertaining to Love, Creation, Normality and Death. From this he continues in unconsciousness to dream through stories of simple-life and earthly pleasures. The last part of his collapse deals with the powers of death persuading him to give up hope and find release in death. At this point the main connecting points of normal life have been quasi-experienced. When he regains consciousness all previous happenings are forgotten. He moves with pain, as does a new-born baby beginning to grow. Maleo examines most of the objects in the room, but, unlike the first part, his analysis is fairly normal. Now, in the restrained state, he is just about able to except the prospect of leaving his room.

The final part deals with his first meeting with a shop-keeper, and the anti-climax when he is smartly rebuffed. However, as the dictatorial power of his consciousness is now completely exhausted, he is able to accept this failure without any overt feelings. We assume he can continue existing.


You can see why I didn't read it as a bedtime story. Nevertheless a name worth remembering (it is a megapode bird, inhabiting Sulawesi, that goes around building mounds). And one day, perhaps I'll finish the story and he will come through it victorious as he, they, are doing in real life.

Talking of real, I'll return to what happened next, in my next episode.