Traveling the same route unknowingly, Gant and Umberto cross paths while "flying without wings" in the middle of a tornado. Becoming partners, the two sojourners continue together down their road learning about each other, but more importantly, about themselves and the relationships with those they love, have loved, or will come to love.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this messy but charming tale of one teenage boy's lucky bank robbery, Arthur Rosenfeld takes us not only cross-country, from South Florida to Port Townsend, Wash., but also across a few spiritual dimensions, such as the one separating life and death. The boy, Umberto Santana, robs a bank in Boca Raton on the day when the bills are unmarked. The bank has brought in this money for Suzanne Emerson, an heiress with a taste for expensive antique automobiles, who wants cash on hand so that she can drive a hard bargain at an upcoming auction. Umberto's dumb luck holds as he gets out of town on his Honda. His cross-country trip is lonely, however, until he meets up with Mercury Gant, who is also fleeing Florida, on his 20-year-old motorcycle. Gant is trying to shake his memories of his ex-lover, Caroline, who was lovely, smart and gruesomely widowed; her husband apparently shot himself and their boy, Xavier. Or did he? That story unfurls in Gant's mind as he makes his way to the last bit of his recent pastAhis daughter, living with Caroline's mother in Port Townsend. Meanwhile, in Florida, Umberto's robbery has caused some excitement: a U.S. senator in the bank at the time died of an asthma attack brought on by stress, and her husband is out for the perpetrator's blood. Eagle Cooper, the FBI agent investigating the case, quickly falls in love with beautiful Suzanne. When Umberto's father uses cash to buy a Jaguar from Suzanne, Eagle closes in, and a sadder, wiser Umberto performs a charitable act. Rosenfeld throws too many subplots into his zany mix, and the dialogue is often corny, but there's a bravura innocence at the heart of this offbeat novel that eventually wins the reader's affection. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Mercury Gant and Umberto Santana are about as different as two cross-country motorcyclists can be. Gant is full of uncertainty, heading west to meet the six-year-old daughter he didn't know he had. Santana is fleeing a bank robbery during which a U.S. senator happened to die from an asthma attack. Thrown together (literally) by a tornado in the Oklahoma panhandle, the two decide to ride together as well. This precis doesn't begin to explain the complexity and delicate layering of Rosenfeld's picaresque novel. Combining a realistic narrative technique with elements of magic and the occult, the author creates a touching ghost story that eludes easy comparison to any other book. Where else will you find a character like Gant's daughter, Audrey, who is blind but can communicate with whales and whose other senses are so highly developed that she can navigate a runaway shopping cart through expressway traffic? An amazing voyage that is as rewarding for the reader as it is for the protagonists. George Needham
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Novelist, martial artist, speaker, teacher.
Yale University 1979
Dalton School New York City 1975
Father Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, writer, columnist, cardiologist.
www.arthurrosenfeld.com for more on my books
www.wisdomandpower.com
for more on martial arts and to book me for seminars and speaking.
Yale University 1979
Dalton School New York City 1975
Father Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, writer, columnist, cardiologist.
www.arthurrosenfeld.com for more on my books
www.wisdomandpower.com
for more on martial arts and to book me for seminars and speaking.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Where I've Never Gone Before,
This review is from: A Cure for Gravity (Hardcover)
A CURE FOR GRAVITY is a (motorcyle) tour de force. The scenes are countless, brief, heavily loaded with information in short sentences, and all lead to a tightly woven conclusion. Arthur Rosenfeld wastes no words, nor spares us the details to take us to places we might never know could exist--in space and in the mind. Nothing is gratuitous. He isn't afraid to take on issues of morality, to extoll beauty, to introduce flights of fancy, or rub our faces in horror. I was enthralled by the author's talent and hooked on the story from beginning to end. Excellent. Excellent.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Modern Novel -Fast Paced and Fun,
By Howard Korn (Beltsville, Md. USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Cure for Gravity (Hardcover)
The Cure for Gravity is a modern novel in the best sense. It moves quickly like modern life with a fast stepping story line filled with adventures, quirky characters- all of whom you'll like- And some way out sub-plots. You'll almost feel like you're riding a bike on the California coast on one page and sailing off Florida on the next. There's just enough tension drawn on the situations our heros are in as well as the anticipated resolving of story lines to keep the pages turning.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh and lovely writing,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Cure for Gravity (Hardcover)
I could not put this book down! The writing is wonderfully fresh and the story is captivating. With rich characters tied together by serindipity and themes of love and friendship to murder and betrayal, this book was a delight to read. I laughed, I cried...I wanted more when it ended. Rosenfeld's thought provoking ideas and magical tones make this book a must read. I can't wait for the movie!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Early that first morning, before the birds shook the dew off their backs, before the street sweepers emerged, before even one footprint appeared on the deck of a sailing boat or one short-order cook took stock of his eggs, even before God thrust his great clammy hands down through the mist and grabbed South Florida in his hot, pulsing grip, Mercury Gant stepped out into the dawn and prepared to abandon his life. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Eagle Cooper, Tim Rule, Port Townsend, Umberto Santana, South Florida, Vicky Rule, Mercury Gant, Boca Raton, Ruth Bishop, Pedro Santana, Audrey Bishop, Hiram Bishop, United States, Agent Cooper, Graciela Perez, Michael Hamilton, Deerfield Beach, New Orleans, Olympic Peninsula, Ron Bernstein, Suzanne Emerson, Water Street, Coconut Grove, Cutler Ridge, Federal Highway New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Early that first morning, before the birds shook the dew off their backs, before the street sweepers emerged, before even one footprint appeared on the deck of a sailing boat or one short-order cook took stock of his eggs, even before God thrust his great clammy hands down through the mist and grabbed South Florida in his hot, pulsing grip, Mercury Gant stepped out into the dawn and prepared to abandon his life. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Eagle Cooper, Tim Rule, Port Townsend, Umberto Santana, South Florida, Vicky Rule, Mercury Gant, Boca Raton, Ruth Bishop, Pedro Santana, Audrey Bishop, Hiram Bishop, United States, Agent Cooper, Graciela Perez, Michael Hamilton, Deerfield Beach, New Orleans, Olympic Peninsula, Ron Bernstein, Suzanne Emerson, Water Street, Coconut Grove, Cutler Ridge, Federal Highway New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7
books:
See all 7 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- Treasure Island: The Graphic Novel (Puffin Graphics) by Hamilton Tim on page 29
- The Odd Couple: A Comedy in Three Acts by Neil Simon in Front Matter
- Don Carlos: Vocal Score by Walter Ducloux on page 59
- Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon in Front Matter
- The Four Seasons (Dover Miniature Music Scores) by Antonio Vivaldi on page 243
See all 7 books this book cites
- The Truth About Chronic Pain: Patients And Professionals Speak Out About Our Most Misunderstood Health Problem by Arthur Rosenfeld in Front Matter
- The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Volume 12 by Stephen Jones in Front Matter
- Diamond Eye by Arthur Rosenfeld in Front Matter
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