Kepler's 2020 Project in the News:
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Set in Copenhagen, this book was originally published in Europe as part of a quartet. The author, Thomas E. Kennedy, gives us a passionate and profound story of his two main characters, Nardo & Michela. In the flashback of the first chapter, we meet Professor Bernardo Greene in his darkest hour, imprisoned and tortured by the military junta of Pinochet’s Chile. In the present, Nardo is in Denmark, working with his psychiatrist to try to banish the demons that threaten to keep him in an isolated, haunted state. We do not see Michela Ibsen’s psychological wounds until the story unfolds, but her movement into hope has already begun. She is described by Nardo as "the woman with eyes of blue light". The use of three languages (English, Danish and Spanish) flows together effortlessly in the story, and yet, the characters’ frustration of finding the right word in another tongue to convey the meaning or expression is evident. There is a segment dedicated to this dilemma entitled "Because I do not know the names of things". The arts are intricately woven into this story, with a masterful use of prose, as well as poetic and musical references. A pivotal moment takes place when the two characters are entwined in a tango, the dance of sorrow. The power of this story is not the political or social wrongs that are explored, nor is it the physical or mental abuses that are inflicted, but rather the exquisite lifting of the spirit which allows humankind to survive. Kathleen L. |
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