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News & Reviews
WORD:
David Halperin debuts with novel 'Journal of a UFO Investigator'
David Halperin, a
professor of
religious studies who received his PhD from Cal Berkeley back in 1977,
has made a late-career turn to writing novels. His debut, "Journal of a
UFO Investigator," (Viking) is an impressive debut about a teenage UFO
investigator that effortlessly swings from the real world to fantasy.
Halperin's novel
tells the story of Danny Shapiro, an awkward, lonely teen with a
terminally ill mother and a hostile father set against the backdrop of
the troubled 1960s. The story weaves psychological drama and vivid
outer space fantasy as Danny turns to an imaginative universe to escape
his crumbling home life.
He enters the world of UFOs when a glowing red disk tumbles down upon
him from the night sky, and his home is mysteriously burglarized not
long afterward. Danny's dilemna is much like what Halperin faced as a
teenager. His mother was dying, yet no one in the family would speak of
it because they were too emotionally alienated to support each other,
he said in a media release in which he explains why he wrote the novel.
Danny keeps himself sane by spinning a story in which he duels with the
embodiments of death, unravels the mysteries of time and existence, and
becomes lover to the most desirable girl he can imagine, all in a world
in which nothing happens that is not conspiracy. Eventually, the boy
descends into the nether-world and emerges transformed.
Like Danny,
Halperin became a UFO investigator, and he credits this
belief with having helped him survive some very lonely and difficult
years.
Halperin might
have been an outcast as a teenager, but nowadays he's got the
endorsement of several prominent novelists. Journal of a UFO
Investigator has received advance praise from writers such as Aryeh
LevStollman, Robert Morgan, and Iain Pears, among others.
"Journal of a UFO Investigator is a remarkable book. Part
science-fiction, part novel of growing up, part surrealist voyage into
the imagination, it is a disconcerting and satisfying experience,"
noted Pears.
To find out more
about David Halperin and his novel check out his website.
A book trailer is here.
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