From Publishers Weekly
In this unusual novel, Locke, a writer for NBC's
Tonight Show, takes readers on a surreal journey involving a magic carpetbag, with mixed results. David Connors is a Chicago video games art director who has let alcohol and an inability to get in touch with his feelings separate him from his wife and two young children. The Christmas season only exacerbates these feelings, and he throws himself out of his 39th-floor office window. When his life is spared, a magic carpetbag he's discovered provides endless objects that hold clues to his past. Together with an unhappy single woman he meets at a restaurant (a relationship that never quite makes sense), he boards a train and begins a strange trip to a bizarre yet familiar town. References to the need for reconciliation with God are inserted in a few places as pieces of David's past come together. In the climax, David experiences a recreation of an incident that has haunted him as an adult. The story requires maximum suspension of disbelief, as David finds forgiveness, explains his story to his wife, then faces his fears again in the closing pages. Faith fiction readers who enjoy a magical element to their stories should find this to their taste.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
THE RELUCTANT JOURNEY OF DAVID CONNERS is a wonderfully compelling inspirational novel that gives new meaning to the term "emotional baggage". I found this to be a clever, original story and eagerly turned pages to find out what would be revealed next. The characters are vivid, well developed and easy to identify with. Author Don Locke has written a beautiful, emotional and inspiring tale of faith and forgiveness. -- Romance Junkies
