The Song of Life
By Louis Greenstein Sunbury Press, 2020 Winner of a 2020 Sunny Award for fiction, The Song of Life is a comedy about suffering and forgiveness. When 24-year-old Margaret Holly gets hit on the head with a Hindu scripture known as the Bhagavad Gita, she is propelled on a seven-year spiritual odyssey. During this time, she grieves a heartbreaking loss, forgives those who abused her, masters the practice of meditation, and comes to better understand the nature of the universe. Her journey introduces her to the inscrutabilities of brain science, the promise of Big Data, and—thanks to her charming, reckless cousin Roy—the colorfully brutal world of professional boxing. Elliott Fenwick is a college professor, an expert in predictive analytics, and a neurotic with lagging social skills who embarks on his own quirky odyssey and—despite himself—changes his and Margaret’s lives forever. Meanwhile, far away and long ago, Arjuna—legendary warrior and hero of the Bhagavad Gita—enjoys his first day off in years. It’s the eve of his legendary chariot ride with Krishna, the dialogue of which comprises the Bhagavad Gita’s verses. At the end of the novel, Margaret's and Arjuna's worlds collide in an unexpected twist. |
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Reviews for The Song Of Life
"Sparkling with insight, this is a wholly original, deeply felt novel of nothing less important than the meaning of our lives. Brimming with memorable characters on journeys both spiritual and quotidian, The Song of Life sings of our searching, seeking souls."
- Robin Black, Author of Life Drawing
"Louis Greenstein packs a lot into The Song of Life, his quirky, huge-hearted new novel. It is a humorous, profound, effortlessly narrated page-turner that really tells two compelling stories. The main story focuses on an impressive range of well-drawn characters: Margaret, the earnest, deeply spiritual coffee shop employee; Roy, Margaret’s cousin, who dreams of making it big as a boxing promoter; Dante, the young prizefighter with all the skills and discipline to succeed; Elliott, the socially awkward analytics professor forced to leave his home after a TV interview goes horribly wrong. These and others come together in a small Ohio town on Lake Erie in an absorbing dual quest for identity and community. The second story, effortlessly interwoven with the first, recounts episodes from the Bhagavad Gita (the sacred Hindu text) that parallel this main narrative, giving the novel an intriguing additional layer of depth."
— Michael Cocchiarale, author, None of the Above
“In The Song of Life, Louis Greenstein takes us on a journey that explores the underbelly of religion and the upside of spirituality. Greenstein creates a world where a book falling on your head – in this case the Bhagavad Gita – can change everything.”
– Janet Mason, author, THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders
"In The Song of Life, Louis Greenstein’s vivid prose propels us on a series of odysseys that not only navigate physical and inner worlds, but also the worlds that exist between us, the vexing and murky seas of human attraction and interaction. Greenstein’s paths wind through thickets of big data and ancient spiritual texts, through the wilderness of adventure and grief and love. Inside these pages, you’ll find prose that’s lyrical and tight, and characters who’ll work their ways into your imagination and even deeper into your heart. The Song of Life is one long, strange trip, and I encourage you to ride along—I guarantee you’ll be entertained, and perhaps you’ll even find a little enlightenment."
— Curtis Smith, author, Lovepain and The Magpie’s Return
- Robin Black, Author of Life Drawing
"Louis Greenstein packs a lot into The Song of Life, his quirky, huge-hearted new novel. It is a humorous, profound, effortlessly narrated page-turner that really tells two compelling stories. The main story focuses on an impressive range of well-drawn characters: Margaret, the earnest, deeply spiritual coffee shop employee; Roy, Margaret’s cousin, who dreams of making it big as a boxing promoter; Dante, the young prizefighter with all the skills and discipline to succeed; Elliott, the socially awkward analytics professor forced to leave his home after a TV interview goes horribly wrong. These and others come together in a small Ohio town on Lake Erie in an absorbing dual quest for identity and community. The second story, effortlessly interwoven with the first, recounts episodes from the Bhagavad Gita (the sacred Hindu text) that parallel this main narrative, giving the novel an intriguing additional layer of depth."
— Michael Cocchiarale, author, None of the Above
“In The Song of Life, Louis Greenstein takes us on a journey that explores the underbelly of religion and the upside of spirituality. Greenstein creates a world where a book falling on your head – in this case the Bhagavad Gita – can change everything.”
– Janet Mason, author, THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders
"In The Song of Life, Louis Greenstein’s vivid prose propels us on a series of odysseys that not only navigate physical and inner worlds, but also the worlds that exist between us, the vexing and murky seas of human attraction and interaction. Greenstein’s paths wind through thickets of big data and ancient spiritual texts, through the wilderness of adventure and grief and love. Inside these pages, you’ll find prose that’s lyrical and tight, and characters who’ll work their ways into your imagination and even deeper into your heart. The Song of Life is one long, strange trip, and I encourage you to ride along—I guarantee you’ll be entertained, and perhaps you’ll even find a little enlightenment."
— Curtis Smith, author, Lovepain and The Magpie’s Return
Mr. Boardwalk
by Louis Greenstein New Door Books, 2014 At the age of seven, Jason Benson first experiences the wonders of Atlantic City-- Carousel music. The scent of Belgian waffles in the cool night air. A clanking roller coaster, riders screaming in free fall. Freak shows and bellowing barkers. The Miss America parade of fifty Cadillac convertibles gliding down the boardwalk. Amazed and smitten, Jason decides his real life will happen here, in this magical shore town. Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb in the 1960s and 1970s, he lives only for his summers on the boardwalk, where his father owns a pretzel stand. From a gypsy friend the boy learns to juggle, and soon “Jason the Magnificent” entertains rapt beachside crowds with his skill and his clever patter. He can’t wait to finish high school so he can move to Atlantic City permanently. But his plans go awry. More than 20 years later, we meet him as a grumpy, distant New York copywriter who has never spoken of his youth. All his adventures on the boardwalk—and all the dreams he cherished there—remain a secret from his wife. In deftly interwoven passages, MR. BOARDWALK traces the excitement and perils of the young Jason and the moral growth of the adult who must come to terms with the past he tried to forget. It is a dual coming-of-age story like no other—a tale of magic and reality intertwined. |
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Reviews for Mr. Boardwalk
"MR. BOARDWALK is a must read and brings back so many great memories. You’ll love it."
—Jerry Blavat, "The Geator with the Heator," legendary Philadelphia and Atlantic City DJ
—Jerry Blavat, "The Geator with the Heator," legendary Philadelphia and Atlantic City DJ
"Like a world-class juggler, Louis Greenstein’s MR. BOARDWALK pulls off the impressive feat of handling several things at once: His debut novel is a heartfelt bildungsroman, a story of a man coming to terms with his complicated youth, and a vivid novel of place. The depiction of 1970s-era Atlantic City is particularly well crafted, marking Greenstein as a writer with a keen eye for the ocean-side resort in the years just before casinos came calling. Although I grew up in Georgia and never visited the Jersey shore before the new millennium began, this novel makes me feel as if I was there, circa 1975, eating a soft pretzel on the boardwalk."
—Joe Samuel Starnes, author of Fall Line and Red Dirt
—Joe Samuel Starnes, author of Fall Line and Red Dirt
"MR. BOARDWALK’s central concern … is Jason’s love for Atlantic City in the mid-70s, and his nostalgia for it in the present day. Jason’s teenage years down the shore were those immediately preceding legalized gambling, when Atlantic City wasn’t exactly a more innocent place (Greenstein deals honestly with the drug and sex culture of the era), but a more honest one. Before the huge casinos with faux themes and the false hope of winning big, the city was full of local seasonal businesses which, in the novel, seem to act more like family than competitors.
Greenstein brings us vividly back to that time, while also reminding us that it was not without its consequences on the individuals who lived it, and that nostalgia can have a bit of a dark side as well. Through the novel, Jason’s love of Atlantic City begins to border on an obsession, which affects not only his life in the 70s, but also his adult life. This connection between the two narratives is one of the real strengths of the novel, and leads to a tight, satisfying ending.
I read this book in front of a fire in the middle of winter, and it gave me visions of my own trips down to the boardwalk, but also an insight into the Atlantic City before my time. Now that the weather is turning, I think it’ll make anyone ready for a trip down the shore."
—Joshua Isard in Small Press Reviews
Greenstein brings us vividly back to that time, while also reminding us that it was not without its consequences on the individuals who lived it, and that nostalgia can have a bit of a dark side as well. Through the novel, Jason’s love of Atlantic City begins to border on an obsession, which affects not only his life in the 70s, but also his adult life. This connection between the two narratives is one of the real strengths of the novel, and leads to a tight, satisfying ending.
I read this book in front of a fire in the middle of winter, and it gave me visions of my own trips down to the boardwalk, but also an insight into the Atlantic City before my time. Now that the weather is turning, I think it’ll make anyone ready for a trip down the shore."
—Joshua Isard in Small Press Reviews
"Vividly evoking the carnival energy of the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1970s, Louis Greenstein captures the longing for places and people who linger in memory. MR. BOARDWALK is a sensitive portrayal of loss, regret, and the difficult yet healing task of coming to terms with your past."
—Alan Drew, author of Shadow Man and Gardens of Water
—Alan Drew, author of Shadow Man and Gardens of Water
"The Atlantic City of the past was a place oozing with a strange and elusive magic. In his tender and taut novel, MR. BOARDWALK, Louis Greenstein captures, as well as anyone has, the mighty and magnetic pull of this place, how it grabbed people when they were young and wouldn’t let go."
—Bryant Simon, author of Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America
—Bryant Simon, author of Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America