The Shattered Image
a novel by Robert Phair
"...Still there was a suggestion and a beautiful memory that persisted
of a world where flesh and spirit were as mutable as paint on an
artist's canvas,
and I knew that if I could never again return there I was as good
as dead."
A first person narrative of a metaphysical adventure: It describes the last days of a unique individual named Devon whom the narrator befriends over the course of a single summer. Devon is haunted by recurrent dreams and images of a goddess who seems to have insinuated herself into his life. The narrator, a professional artist and painter, has an inspirational dream the night he meets Devon in which he becomes aware of the goddess's presence. This strengthens the bond of friendship that they form immediately.
A story of the odyssey of two characters: Over the course of his interaction with Devon the narrator, having lived a life of material, emotional, and spiritual destitution, finally achieves freedom from all three forms of poverty. Devon is eventually liberated from the mundane world that he has never been able to accept, and at the end of the story his artwork is presented as a metaphor for the trail he leaves behind in the wake of his transcendence.
A uniquely beautiful account of an ordinary man's encounter with the intelligent heart of the universe: It is heavy with love, longing, and sadness; a tale of redemption full of striking, stirring imagery.
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