| A Separate Reality Contributor(s): Marshall, Robert (Author) |
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ISBN: 0786717157 ISBN-13: 9780786717156 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers OUR PRICE: $24.74 Product Type: Paperback Published: October 2006 Annotation: Set in the early 1970s, "A Separate Reality" is the story of Mark Grosfeld, a twelve-year-old growing up in Phoenix with politically active liberal Jewish parents. Mark, who is lonely and unhappy, meets Anna Voigt, a teacher who becomes his mentor. Anna, an ex-hippie poet, encourages Mark to write, and he becomes part of a circle of teenagers who meet at Anna's house to smoke pot and read poetry. She introduces him to the Beats, Zen Buddhism and the popular pseudo-anthropologist, Carlos Castaneda, author of "Journey to Ixtlan. " Mark goes on a semi-comic suburban vision quest, trying to conduct his life according to the teachings he uncovers in the books he finds through Anna -- most significantly, Castaneda's. Mark soon discovers all these books share the belief that through a loss of "self" one can, somehow, transcend reality. "A Separate Reality" is a novel about the risks and appeal of the desire to be perfect; a portrait of the artist as a young man in the Seventies. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 1.05" H x 5.53" W x 8.5" (1.21 lbs) 444 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1970's - Geographic Orientation - Arizona - Locality - Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona - Topical - Adolescence/Coming of Age - Ethnic Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Set in the early 1970s, A Separate Reality is the story of Mark Grosfeld, a twelve-year-old growing up in Phoenix with politically active liberal Jewish parents. Mark, who is lonely and unhappy, meets Anna Voigt, a teacher who becomes his mentor. Anna, an ex-hippie poet, encourages Mark to write, and he becomes part of a circle of teenagers who meet at Anna's house to smoke pot and read poetry. She introduces him to the Beats, Zen Buddhism and the popular pseudo-anthropologist, Carlos Castaneda, author of Journey to Ixtlan. Mark goes on a semi-comic suburban vision quest, trying to conduct his life according to the teachings he uncovers in the books he finds through Anna - most significantly, Castaneda's. Mark soon discovers all these books share the belief that through a loss of "self" one can, somehow, transcend reality. A Separate Reality is a novel about the risks and appeal of the desire to be perfect; a portrait of the artist as a young man in the Seventies. |