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Robert's E-books
All the books listed here
are downloadable electronic books
that can be read on the entire range of electronic reading devices and
even mobile phones and iPods. They are available now at Smashwords.com
-- an ebook publishing and distribution platform for e-book authors,
publishers, and readers -- and will soon be available at major online
bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Fictionwise, and
Kobo.
To see a list of Robert's available paperback books,
go to the "Novels" page.
Autumn Shadows in August
Check it out at Smashwords.com
Modeled roughly on Malcolm
Lowry's Dark as the Grave Wherein My
Friend is Laid, this novel is part homage to Lowry and Hermann
Hesse,
part mushroom retrospective, and part middle-aged love story. David
Thompson
(the protagonist in Looking for the Summer) is an expatriate
American
teaching at a Japanese university and suffering from hepatitis C. His
wife Kaori
is recovering from cancer surgery. Feeling a strong sense of their own
mortality, confusion about the significance of what they have done with
their lvies, and a need to escape the constrictions of their life in
Japan, the two set out on a journey to Europe to retrace a path from
David's adventurous youth and locate a German benefactor from the past.
What lies ahead--a trip through the Magic Theater, a sudden death, an
encounter with Lowry's ghost, and
a descent into the Capuchin Crypt in Rome--will change their lives
irrevocably.
"Autumn Shadows In August is an engaging and entertaining
novel…very
strongly recommended for all general fiction readers for its evocative
telling
and unique style and presentation of a timeless tale…an overall
remarkable
story."––Midwest Book Review
"Autumn Shadows in August
is a journey in miles and of states
of mind. The reader travels through Europe with an American expatriate
who recapitulates his past in a transcendental and evocative fashion.
Along this mind-expanding sojourn, we also travel over the Khyber Pass
from Afghanistan and into India, where the protagaonist's life is
transformed. Autumn Shadows in August is an insightful and very
enjoyable read. I'm glad I went along on this personal journey."--David
Echt, author of Messenger from the Summer
of Love
More
Reviews
Toraware
Check it out at Smashwords.com
The year is 1983. The place is the Kobe-Osaka
area. A 33-year-old
American drifter and Vietnam War veteran has just arrived in Japan
seeking one more adventure and an escape from his past. A promiscuous,
rebellious, 23-year-old Japanese woman has just returned from a
two-year homestay in a Canadian mission, where she was sent by her
parents to cure her suicidal behavior. A snobbish, upper-class,
22-year-old Japanese woman who cannot distinguish between fantasy and
reality is about to graduate from university and enter the frightening
world of adulthood. Three people searching for a place to belong. Three
people dancing on a psychological highwire. Three people about to
become enmeshed in a relationship that will change each of their lives
forever. Toraware is a special novel that takes a penetrating
look at the obsessions, suspense, grief, misunderstandings, and joys of
people from very different cultures and backgrounds who are brought
together by
fate to find the separate life paths they must follow.
"Crafted in excellent style and patiently honed....The Japanese
characters are wholly convincing....The ambivalence and spiritual guilt
of Yoshiko, one of the tragic heroines of Toraware, about an
abortion she underwent years ago, is perfectly captured....[Norris has]
captured the unassuagable melancholy at the deepest core of the
Japanese soul [and] succeeded in
convincing us of the reality of [his] vision."--Kansai Time Out
Magazine
"A wonderful novel about that
last love/lust journey some of
us take before we segue into middle age, acceptance and stability. It
is a dangerous
journey, not for the weak of heart. Along the way are demons lying in
ambush, and false trails which can lead to madness, suicide and even
murder.
Robert W. Norris has created characters we will grow to love, despite
their
many flaws, characters who, we hope and pray, will make it through,
characters
we will always remember. Be prepared to stay up nights as you follow
their
progress. A number one read!"--Paul Clayton, author of Calling Crow
More
Reviews
Looking
for the Summer
Check it out at Smashwords.com
David Thompson is a former Vietnam War
conscientious objector in Paris
on a quest to find himself in the early days of 1977. When he befriends
an Iranian and an Afghan and is invited to return with them to their
countries, his quest slowly becomes a descent into his own private
hell.
On the road from Europe to the
East he encounters Kurdish
bandits in the eastern mountains of Turkey, becomes involved with an
underground group opposed to the Shah in Iran, escapes to Afghanistan,
passes through Pakistan during the uprising against the Bhutto regime,
and suffers extreme sickness on the streets of Delhi and Calcutta.
Although continually searching for the happiness and identity he could
not find in the U.S., he cannot easily shed his American past.
Throughout the journey he is hounded by the demons of memory,
particularly that of his father, a World War II hero who disowned David
and died while David was still in prison. The journey itself becomes a
physical manifestation of his struggle to achieve reconciliation with
his own conscience.
This picaresque novel is
interspersed with a multitude of
characters whose philosophical, political, and religious opinions
influence David greatly in his search. It is rich with the fascination
of adventure in countries not easily accessible anymore to Westerners,
vibrant with its diversity
of characters, and graphic in its descriptions of poverty, death, and
disease. Looking for the Summer is a remarkable adventure story
of a man about to lose his youth and find his true self in ancient
lands.
"A graceful autobiographical
novel that breathes life into a perennial
genre: the spiritual bildungsroman. The theme of a questing
expatriate who renounces Western materialism in favor of an exotic
pilgrimage to the East will be familiar to anyone who has fallen under
the spell of W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge or Jack
Kerouac's The Dharma Bums....
Although published prior to the
events of 9/11, it is
impossible to pick up Norris's novel without a heightened interest in
its vividly depicted locales in a part of the world where our
attentions are now so intensely focused. Several fascinating chapters
are devoted to [the protagonist's] stay in Afghanistan. Written with a
novelist's eye for characterization
and a reporter's skill for observation, Looking for the Summer
is
the kind of small press gem that is often overlooked but is well worth
seeking out. -- Bob Wake, CultureVulture.net
"In the hands of any author, Looking
for
the
Summer
would probably be a compelling read due to the inherent intrigue in the
story's setting. But Norris is a masterful writer and storyteller, and
he uses his craft to elevate this tale above mere 'compelling' or
'interesting' to the realm of uplifting and insightful. He deftly
paints a portrait of his locations using a visual poetry that is
neither self-conscious nor affected.... This is a fascinating novel,
told in spellbinding English. I can't recommend it enough." --
Christine Hall, Alternative Approaches Magazine
"Looking for the Summer
brings to light the turmoil
going through the mind of a conscientious objector to the Vietnam
War...a powerfully written novel....Highly important in its message
about standing up for what one believes and about the personal growth
one experiences while on a soul-searching journey as a result of taking
such action...certain to have a profound
impact on the reader. It is a must-read, unforgettable novel." --
Jeanne
Allen, Knowbetter.com
More
Reviews
The
Many Roads to Japan
A Search for Identity
Check it out at Smashwords.com
Originally developed as a
textbook for Japanese EFL university
students, The Many Roads to Japan tells the story of the
adventures of
one
foreigner who had to follow many twists and turns in his life journey
before
finding his niche in Japan. The exercises at the end of each chapter
are
designed both to provide a review of the most important information
contained
in the chapter and to give practice in skimming for main ideas and
scanning
for specific kinds of information. The discussion/essay questions are
meant
to involve the students personally by asking them to respond to events
in
the main character's life and relate them to their own experiences. For
listening practice, learners can go to Norris's podcast. Suitable for
low intermediate level and
above.
"Mr. Norris's description of
the world of adventure as well as that of
misery reminds me of Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March,
Henderson the Rain King, or Herzog....Norris's story of a
symbolic life is a gift from his own experience, and it gives us
something good, meaningful, and inspiring....The comprehension
questions, exercises, and discussion/essay questions are quite useful
in helping Japanese students to think in English and in encouraging
them to express themselves in English as well. This
is one of the ideal textbooks I have been looking for, and while using
it I am happy to say that I can steer clear of the traditional
grammar-translation method, which I find so time-consuming and
ineffective." -- Professor
Kazushige Sagawa, Aoyama Gakuin University
"Excellent! I was mesmerized by
the visual descriptions of all
the places seen by the narrator and the struggle he went through to
find the meaning of his life, and what he really wanted to do with the
rest of it. I think it's a great learning tool for any student, and it
was certainly well written. I'm putting it in my keeper file. There's a
lot of information in there you'd never find anywhere else. Once I
started reading, I couldn't put it down." -- Beth Anderson, author of Night
Sounds,
Murder
Online, and Second Generation
More
Reviews
Copyright
(c)
2010
Robert
W.
Norris.
All
Rights
Reserved
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