The Other Way [Paperback]

Lloyd Whitling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2002

Follow two teachers while they get their own educations. A sultry and controversial page-turner interspersed with blocks of heady subject matter. Just about the time a reader starts to worry about getting bogged down, he discovers himself running down a new trail toward some dark place in somebody else's mind. Nobody will read this story without some emotion being touched and some concern being raised. Whether you think, "At last!"; "Well, that's a novel idea!"; or "Oh! Oh!-they're onto us!" you will feel like this is a story meant for you. The message conveyed is that total honesty should prevail in intimate relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

     Lying, cheating, sneaking around, hiding, self-justifying were their way of life before Rod and Jon were forced to discover The Other Way. In one reviewer's (Roberta from Indiana) words, "I found this book to be very thought-producing. Its main characters are well-developed, and you'llfind yourself involved in their personal dilemmas. It is easy to read and carries you from page one to the end."

     I would like to tell you about this story first, so you all will know what to expect or, at least, feel forewarned. It's a long, complicated story, like many, although shortening it was on my mind while I told it. I've been told it's one of my best as far as demonstrating the point it claims to make. 

     I learned a great many things by the acts and investigations required to write it down, and saw how my own thoughts, once composed on paper, sometimes did not jibe with each other. Oftentimes, I used them as principles for living and guiding my own life, and have since seen this phenomenon at work in most people with whom I deal. 

     So, this story is a comparison of many modes of thought concerning a like idea, set down as fiction. The 100-thousand words have been set down in two parts. Part One contains sexual content in more-or-less explicit scenes which, I'm sure you'll agree, are relevant and enhance the 'feelings' in a contextually constructive manner. Expletives used throughout the story are in character with their users, and offer one more way to contrast a 'clean' approach to life with the one considered 'normal'. 

     I do agree we should not fear our sexuality. I disagree that it should be commercially exploited and demeaned to where it has become a product whose appeal is upheld by titillation promoted by our religious institutions. On this, the reader must be the final judge.

     Part One describes Rodney Mudge pursuing his relationships with two women in the fashion covertly approved by our society (and overtly disavowed). Each incident knocks over the next in a wave of rushing events to which, once started, he can react only in the fashion with which he began. His attempts to shore up his marriage with flimsy lies serve only to make him appear contemptible. 

     Involved, as was the philosopher, Spinoza, in pursuit of a mathematical description of God, Jon Van Deutsch will finally decide that He is just as conceivable as a squared circle. A teacher (as is Rodney), he becomes involved in an affair with one of his under-aged students with whom he desires marriage. He fears her rather violent father, so meets her on the sly. 

     His girlfriend, Sheila, runs away when they are discovered. While she is in Florida learning the mysteries of drugs, Jon and Rod will lose their university positions and decide to become partners in a bar, which also proves to be a disenchanting adventure. 

     Part Two Introduces the self-named "Bohunk Philosopher", a salesman who expresses his own rather strange ideas. Jon reacts to him and, to cool his passionate temper, goes on a ride which terminates with his car plunging into the Allegheny River. 

     A man named Rom rescues him from the water and provides lodging. Sheila returns to join a search for him. Rom's unusual interactions with his two 'wives', and their uniquely open honesty and sincerely expressed values, will set Jon onto a new course through life. 

     Sheila sees worms in everything as a response to a drug-related experience and, as a result of discovering their existence is solely in her own mind, and a response to her environment, learns she must be strong and face her own demons. Because of her, Jon realizes he has never been fully alive, and that he is solely responsible for that, and that he, too, must dare to face his own responsibilities. It becomes the high point toward which the story aims. The reader is relieved of the story's cumbersome burdens, and instilled with a realization that things don't always have to be so awful as they sometimes seem.

     Americans, we are constantly being told, are searching for American ideals. As Americans, we need some way to deal with change--and this is becoming a wordwide issue--not only in our environments, but within ourselves. By highlighting those areas of our interpersonal relationships which are seldom considered, THE OTHER WAY conveys a statement that only through honesty in our expressions of desires to each other, and in dealing with each other, can we remain aware of all the directions of change so we can adequately, individually, cope with it. I am an American. I vote for change, progress, and technology. But, I am pro-family, marriage, and human commitment. I am for honesty, for investigating and presenting ways we can be more honest with each other, and for the courage to acknowledge our own mistakes (socially and individually). If that is shocking, then the doomsayers are correct. If it seems wearying then, too, are they correct. If it seems productive and constructive, freedom may win after all. Read the story. If it fails you in all other ways it is, at least, good entertainment.

Also available as an ebook at amazon.com/-/e/B0050UV8DS

About the Author

Born in Oil City, Pennsylvania September 17, 1937, Lloyd now lives and writes in Tennessee with his monogamous sweetheart of more than 4 decades.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (April 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059522394X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595223947
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

More About the Author

Lloyd H. Whitling, a native Pennsylvanian, has been in trouble since 1937 due to a sense of curiosity that cannot be satisfied with superficial or artificial details about his surroundings. His hands-on attitude has led him through a diverse existence that he draws on for his books and web site. The result is a unique point of view that, most likely, will keep him in trouble with his readers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Other Way, September 12, 2003

By 

Roberta Hill "Seacher" (Peru, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Other Way (Paperback)

If you are looking for a novel that examines our beliefs in God and the Universe, you have come to the right place. I found this book to be very thought producing.It's main characters are well developed and you will find yourself involved in their personal dilemmas. At times you will find yourself liking them, loving them, or even hating them. It is easy to read and carries you swifly from page one to the end. After finishing this book, I am sure you will want to return to examine the pages all over again! If you, like me, are looking for ways to help you understand your own thoughts and views about God and our reasons for being here, you will find it in this excellent novel by Lloyd H. Whitling.