Customer Reviews

Beginner's Luke: Book I of the Beginner's Luke Series

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Until I encountered Luke Soloman, metafiction didn't give me much satisfaction. All too often I found it precious, with authors more intent on showing off writerly parlor tricks than providing credible, sympathetic characters or a coherent story. But the eponymous hero of Sol Luckman's picaresque novel, BEGINNER'S LUKE, is delightfully down to earth: he's often restless, sometimes guileless, perpetually seeking, and, apparently, perpetually horny. BEGINNER'S LUKE is the first installment of a series of six Bildungsromans designed to show how Luke grows, what he gains and how he learns to perceive the world. Readers will have such a fine old time following his adventures it may not dawn on them for some time that they, too, are meant to question their assumptions about reality.

In Book I, the self-generated Luke, determined not to be a tourist in his own life, sets out on his travels and promptly manages to blunder into one mishap after another, including an idyll with the leaf-eating Folarian tribe that comes to a rapid and near-disastrous end and an apprenticeship as a beggar and dumpster-diver in crime-addled Perver City. He eventually seeks refuge in his past (real? imagined? does it matter?) and relives his transition from an alienated, marginalized teenager to a college man in hot pursuit of meaning and mating material in roughly equal measures. The lessons he learns make him wiser, but does that add up to contentment? (Get real: if it did, would there be a reason for Book II?)

Sol Luckman's writing makes BEGINNER'S LUKE a rewarding romp from start to finish. This is the sort of book that could easily have self-destructed in a lesser author's hands, but Luckman makes it sing. You'll like Luke often; you'll want to wring his neck on occasion. But what you won't do is forget him. What is life's purpose? Are things always what they seem? What's the difference between living and existing? Are we the hero of our own lives? When can we be said to have finally grown up? Luke Soloman will no doubt tackle these--and scores of other burning issues--as he continues his education in Book II of the series, THE TOY BUDDHA. I, for one, can't wait to go along for the ride.

Solo Man, a.k.a. Luke Soloman, peels off the layers of identity to reveal or maybe even expose the naked truth of the inner individual--the only One. And the zip strip he uses is the words that make up his thoughts and via the tool of writing, using those words to make up a reality for all of us to explore. It's not just any ol' words either, it's an amazing and articulate collection that makes you want to strap on your dictionary for a Personal Flotation Device as you push your craft off toward the other side.

At first, the storyline seems a little trite or maybe juvenile, but as one continues to read, it becomes obvious that's the intention. It's all background, a sort of history that one needs to connect with the character. And the criticism seems validated when the rest of Luke's writing class (Creative Writing 101) has the same superficial reaction to his "story." Digging in, it starts to get deeper.

How often do we take things at face value, without understanding how something seemingly simple has serious significance? How much do we overlook in our everyday experiences as we search only for the extraordinary? What might appear to have little merit but could be the fulcrum that moves the mountain? That's part of the point--we miss so much by assuming a superior stance without realizing there's always a lesson--that there's always something to learn.

And Luke's story has a mighty moral: we're making it all up! Our imagination is both seed and soil, water and sun. It's how we cultivate our circumstances and fashion our future. Luke takes us on a tour of time and quaintly confuses the quantity and quality of something we've all come to take for granted, the timeline that creates cause and effect. It reminds me of a quote I've seen attributed to a number of individuals, including Tom Robbins: "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

The BEGINNER'S LUKE Series fits first and foremost into the category of adventure; the fact that it's also educational is a sort of furtive free lunch. (Who says there's no such thing?) So, gentle friend, read it and weep, but be well warned, those might be tears of joy.

"Life was too short to waste being a productive member of society. My job was an imaginary life, and I felt deeply I should be paid to live it."

Such is the prevailing sentiment of Luke Soloman, the unassuming protagonist of Beginner's Luke. The first in a six-part series of his various adventures & misadventures, Beginner's Luke introduces the reader to the mind of a man on a search to find his true self- even if that search does take him backwards in time.

Soloman's exploits begin on the streets of New Age City, a wondrous place to rival the glitz & glamour of Disneyland. There, he quickly finds himself overwhelmed, eventually falling (literally) into the realm of Perver City, New Age City's ersatz suburb. Rife with similar individuals who couldn't make it in New Age City, Perver City introduces Soloman to such clans as the Folarians, Pietarians, and Breatharians, all rival factions with obvious predilections. Following a nearly tragic turn of events within their midst, Soloman is then taken in by the inimitable Blue, who indoctrinates him with, among other things, the finer points of the art of begging.

Blue soon realizes, though, that Soloman is destined for more, so he shoos him off, encouraging him to set his sights higher and expand his horizons further, which leads Soloman "back" to his college days, surrounded by a host of equally intriguing characters who further enrich his experiences and enlighten him on his quest.

One may think Luckman's metaphysical approach to storytelling would potentially alienate readers who may find his prose difficult to follow; however, it is precisely his originality that lends his narrative the authenticity he needs to pull the whole thing off. Through his liberal use of colorful metaphors and similes, Luckman engages the reader's imagination and fosters independent thought regarding his assessments that often leads to rewarding conclusions. Also, his witticisms and acerbic observations lend his critiques a comedic touch, serving as the proverbial spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine of truth go down.

Beginner's Luke is a welcome start to what promises to be a mind-bending journey through the mind of the ultimate iconoclast. Fittingly, one can only imagine what's next in store.

Reviewed by Thomas Gabrielli for Reader Views (5/07)

Luke Soloman's chronicles of starting a new life--backwards--begins as a beggar in New Age City, where everything is almost perfect. Perfect, except for his new career; the residents of this town are frugal when it comes to charity. To escape, he passes through a brick wall and lands in Perver City, where he joins a group of people known as The Folarians. (You'll have to go with me on this one, please.) After being busted by a licorice twist, he takes up with a vagrant known as Blue, who he stays with until Blue decides it's time for Luke to move on. When he leaves Blue, he ends up back in college as an eighteen-year-old, where he meets an assortment of still stranger characters.

Okay, so maybe the synopsis in the above paragraph isn't really "selling" this novel quite the way it should. Trust me on this one: this is a very unique and entertaining read. Think modern-day "Alice in Wonderland," where anything can come alive when you start with a blank page. The author, Sol Luckman, warns from the very beginning that as a writer, he can do whatever he wants with his characters or the storyline. And he substantiates that feat throughout the novel. He needs a new character for a plot point? Poof! He invents one. I half expected him to give Luke wings and have him fly.

This book to a conventional novel is what an animated film is to a documentary. It is creative, imaginative, humorous and very distinctive. Sol Luckman's character, Luke Soloman (notice the similarities in names?) could be described as the author's inventive alter-ego. Yet all the time, the author makes the reader aware that he is in control here. He steps out from behind his craft to announce twist in the plot, or new character development. Think the final chapter of Armistead Maupin's "The Night Listener."

However, while the novel meanders to over-the-top places and possibilities, this reader found himself asking, "So, what's the point?" Perhaps to show the reader that as individuals, we, too, have choices and potentials. There are no boundaries or rules to limit us. If this was the lesson in Book I of this six-part series, then I can't wait for my next one. Or, if I have totally missed the point, if indeed there is one here, I need to read the next installment.

I recommend "Beginner's Luke" for Luckman's sheer brazenness in stepping out of the box and ending up somewhere out in the stratosphere. This is a good place for the reader to go, where, like me, there is a curiosity about where else Luckman will take us the next time around. Just think of the possibilities!

Received book free of charge.