Reviewed by Carole McDonnell
Entrevoir: A Novel
by Chris Katsaropoulos
208 Pages
Luminis Books
April 2015, ISBN: 978-1941311509
Jacob, the protagonist, is an artist who feels called away from the art scene to create one great work in the middle of nowhere. He is convinced that, for the discerning soul and true seeker of truth, journeying to see this work will be a pilgrimage. And in viewing the installation Jacob will make, they spectator of the art will somehow connect to God and the universe.
This is what Jacob believes. And the author doesn’t question his protagonist. The reader will probably assume that the protagonist and the author are mirrors of each other and the installation art done by the protagonist is to be equated with the book the reader is holding in her hand.
While doing his installation, Jacob suddenly gets transported into the cosmic and sees beyond the veil. There are mystics, priests, truths, and page-long run-on sentences galore.
This is not a typical mainstream novel. Some folks would call it by the old term “visionary.” The book is rhapsodic, or attempted rhapsody. Rhapsody is very hard to do well and quite often rhapsody is done best when the author uses accessible words and images.
The book feels earnest. It pulls the reader along. From the beginning Jacob’s transformation/journey is about the role of artist as seer and priest in the world. Ideas of reincarnation, Identity, and the Self or Cosmic spirit all come together in an attempt to sing of life and time. But this book is not for everyone, and not for the casual reader of fiction. Unless a reader is looking for a spiritual treatise disguised as fiction, this book should not be considered a novel. It is more of a philosophical manifesto.
Often, it’s the indie books which show earnest statements. And the earnestness of the story and the courage of that earnestness is admirable. It seems as if the author, like all manifesto writers, is bravely being himself. Some readers may understand but not believe the philosophy and spirituality of the story. There is a fine line between solipsism and acknowledging that we are all each other’s mirror/reflection of Spirit. And there is a fine line between New Age philosophy and Christianity, although the author seems to have merged the two. But, Entrevoir might connect to some mystical reader who has a gnostic Christian pantheistic, panentheistic New Age bent.
About the reviewer: Carole McDonnell is a writer of ethnic fiction, speculative fiction, Christian non-fiction, and Christian fiction. Her works have appeared in many anthologies and at various online sites. Her fantasy fiction novels, Wind Follower and The Constant Tower are published by Wildside Press. Her short story collection is Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction by Carole McDonnell. Her self-published books are My Life as an Onion, A Fool’s Journey Through the Book of Proverbs, Oreo Blues, and Seeds of Bible Study: How NOT to study the Bible. She can be found at http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/