REVIEW: My Travels with a Dead Man by Steve Searls
Jane Takako Wolfsheim learns she can alter time and space after meeting a charismatic stranger named Jorge Luis Borges.
Inextricably she falls for Borges. Soon, however Borges’ lies and emotional abuse, and nightmares about a demonic figure, “the man in black”, nearly drive Jane mad. After her parents are murdered, Jane flees with Borges. Both the ghost of haiku master, Basho, and the Daibutsu of Kamakura, a statue of Buddha that appears in her dreams, offer her cryptic advice. Unable to trust anyone, Jane must find the strength to save herself, her unborn child, and possibly the future of humanity.
MY REVIEW: This story was initially quite baffling but drew me in as I read. What I found most gratifying was the heroine's gradual self-awareness as she navigates her strange life and comes to discover her gift. That she is of Japanese extraction only added to the story. I came to see the world through her eyes rather than a Western-centric world-view, which is always refreshing.
The playing with identities and slippage from one reality to the next was Lynchian in its scope. It was hallucinatory and sometimes objectifying of the heroine, Jane, but not in a way that felt gratuitous. In many ways it put me in mind of Aboriginal concepts of 'The Dreaming' and how this world is an illusion. Dreams do indeed have power.
The haiku master, Basho, is her mentor and his poetic asides add a uniquely Japanese flavour to the story as do the musings of the Daibutsu. Both of these characters give the reader a mythic and highly nuanced understanding of the many worlds that Jane comes to inhabit.
Jane's indomitability makes you want to cheer for her. She begins the story as seemingly passive and subservient, but as time goes on, the realities imposed on her by others fall away and she is free to make her own choices. Though the story zips about in time, Jane is very much the modern woman: autonomy being the key to her deepest desire. The ending is especially satisfying.
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Author Bio: Steve Searls retired from the practice of law in 2002 due to a rare chronic autoimmune disorder (Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Cell Associated Periodic Syndrome). He began writing poetry in 2001 and, using the pseudonym, Tara Birch, was the featured poet of Tryst Poetry Journal’s Premiere Issue. He’s also published numerous poems as Tara Birch in print and online, including the poetry chapbook, Carrots and Bleu Cheese Dip, in 2004.
Steve was also active as a blogger posting under the name, Steven D, at Daily Kos (2005-2017), Booman Tribune (2005-2017) and caucus99percent (2016–present). Steve’s published essays on Medium include “Clara’s Miracle”, about his wife’s cancer and resulting traumatic brain injury from chemotherapy, and “My Rape Story”. Raised in Colorado, he now lives with his adult son in Western NY. My Travels With a Dead Man is his first novel.
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