Soho’s Luminarium
has received yet another insightful and positive review in Sunday’s New York Times from Christopher R. Beha. Beha calls Alex Shakar’s novel compelling,
comparing it at times to the films Inception
and The Matrix. Shakar’s novel is already complicated by
alternate realities, artificially induced religious experiences and disembodied
family members. To this, Beha’s article
brings the ideas of William James and his opinions, contrary to many who see
religious experiences as symptoms of brain trauma or dysfunction and then dismiss the concepts as past
mistakes of no value.
Beha seems to find those demanding concepts at odds with the
novel’s attempt to entertain at times, but concludes that while there is quite
a lot going on within the story, Shakar’s talented writing holds the book
together. Clearly, there is a lot to
learn from Luminarium, which is as
full of entertainment as it is of revelations.
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