Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries [Paperback]

Julie Ann Shapiro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2007

Brad Lynberry, a successful photographer is haunted by the memory of Jen-Zen. He finds himself first fascinated then obsessed with shoes but only lost shoes! Is Brad driven by artistic inspiration or is he going off the deep end like his sister fears? The answer comes through encounters with his Grandma who loves birds; a shaman named Red Hawk who tells him to look in the shadows, and Jonathan the art collector who leads him to Swansea where lost shoes keep popping up in a display of whimsy. Time is running out. Brad must unravel Jen-Zen s poetic riddles or go mad trying.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Haunting and hypnotic, Shapiro's debut novel will long linger in the reader's mind. JEN-ZEN illuminates the beauty to be found in the dark vacuum of unfathomable personal loss, and inspires. --Michael Steven Gregory

Building on the popularity of such shows as Sex and The City, shoe fanatics now have another great book to read! In the novel, Jen-Zen & The One Shoe Diaries, Brad and his own shoe obsession are tied to his search for connection and love in, and beyond, the shoes themselves. His very rendering the shoes as art in his photographic collection, dubbed Shoe-sophy is something artists, shoe-lovers, and readers can related to, but it is the mystery that will keep you reading. Find out what happens to Brad and Jen-Zen in this enthralling, modern-day mystery of love, romance, and shoes. --Great News Books

Feeling the blues of sadness, the reds of rage, and all the shades in between... Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries is vivid with imagery. Julie Ann Shapiro colorfully depicts the realities and wondrousness of relationships through the ethereal sensitivity of Jen-Zen and the longing heart of Brad Lynberry. --S.M. Murdock, Bewildering Stories Editorial Review

About the Author

Julie Ann Shapiro is a freelance writer, short story author and novelist. She lives in the coastal community of Encinitas, California. Her stories and essays have appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune, North County Times, Los Angeles Journal, Pindeldyboz, Sacred Waters/Fire: (Adams Media 2005), Story South, Word Riot, Opium Magazine, Insolent Rudder, Cezzane s Carrots, Mad Hatters Review, Ghoti Magazine, Spoiled Ink, Void, Elimae, Footsteps to Oxford, Salome, and many others. Julie was a 2008 Pushcart Nominee for one of her short stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: SynergEbooks (October 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0744313910
• ISBN-13: 978-0744313918
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,297,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic mystery with lyrical prose, January 13, 2008

By 

Scott T. Barnes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries (Paperback)

Jen-Zen is as likable as the title. The book straddles the romance and mystery genres, with enough "magic realism" to please a fantasy lover like myself. It is a very romantic tale of love between a photographer putting together a collection of photos of "one shoes" and a girl who falls into a coma. If Brad solves the mystery of the one shoes, he may be able to save his lost love.

A friend recommended this book to me. What had me hooked from page one was the prose. Julie has the most original, lyrical voice I've read in years. Being as I read a novel every two weeks or so, that is saying something.

All in all, a great read for anyone looking for a truly original story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I'd written that sentence., July 1, 2008

By 

Richard Snow (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries (Paperback)

Anyone who has ever had a relative in intensive care will recognise the first few chapters of this book: the way a relative drifts in and out of a morphine induced fog, the attempts of others to communicate with them, and the apparent unreality of the whole situation. Anyone who has ever had their life tipped upside down will agree with the main character who wants his old life back.
I won't try to summarise the subject of this book, or its main themes: the first reviewer has done that well.
But Ms Shapiro has an eye for detail, an awareness of bodily sensations, a sense of smell and light that few writers have. Often as I read this book I thought, "Why didn't I write that sentence?"
I'd give it 5 stars. Anyone outside the US (like me) can buy it most easily from the publisher's website as an E book (SynergEbooks.com)
Richard Snow
www.snowinmelbourne.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical journey, January 23, 2008

By 

Mark C. Lagamayo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries (Paperback)

Jen-Zen and the One-Shoe Diaries written by Julie Ann Shapiro is a fictional account of one man's magical, and sometimes surreal, journey through life, love, death and the power of art and imagination.

Brad is a photographer with an artist's eye and is the central character of the novel. His one-time love, a woman who is known as Jen-Zen, provides Brad with a window into his past and soul. It starts with harrowing ordeal that challenges Brad's emotional well-being is soon transformed into a riveting mystery. A whimsical romp following a trail of single shoes culminates into an extraordinary journey into the human heart.

I found myself on a similar journey as I read chapter after chapter. As an artist myself, I was drawn in by Brad's experiences that were curiously a mirror of my own. However, instead of photography, my art-in-hand is writing. I discovered parallels between myself and Brad in such areas as creativity (what it means to be an artist) and vision (how we see the world is just as important as how we interpret it).

In all, I enjoyed reading Ms. Shapiro's novel on the basis of its 'truth-in-art' mystique as well as in its heart.