Abstract:
The Yogiebogeybox is a novel-in-stories. This novel explores spiritual
transcendence and the connection of art to that spiritual journey. A variety of points of
view are employed in the narrative in order to depict the journey of the protagonist, Ant
Malo, through this journey. Some of the narrative threads are layered, told through
filters, and filters are central to the theme of this novel. In each story, the narrators, many
of whom speak through the author (a character named Tracy Boothman Duyck)
comment on these journeys. In "Practical Jokes" a neighbor of Ant's, Sally, has a
physical experience that is orchestrated by Ant, who rests secure in his good deeds. He
believes that his deeds alone, inspired by a spirit of goodwill, make him a good man.
"Prince Lovely and the Little Bigs" offers a portrait of Ant's daughter Regina, an
adolescent girl whose opinion of her father, in the light of events that happen in her life,
would differ from his own. "In the Company of Bards" illustrates Ant's late coming-of-age
and acceptance of his transgressions in the physical world and depicts how the
consequence of those transgressions compel him to seek a penance that shadows his
daughter's fate. Stories like "Jimi Hendrix's Banshee," "Liturgy of the Hour," and
"2001- A View from a Dreamscape Out West" and "More in the Way of Dreams," bring
the spiritual and sub-conscience life of Ant Malo together, and couple the presence of the
metaphysical with the mystery of existence. "Mama Junk," "The Salt of Time" and
"Kennedy Plaza at Dusk" examine loss, a sense of obligation to self-preservation and the
limitations that individuals bring to marriage, relationships and parenthood. Levity is
provided through the sections that chronicle the process of the author and her muse, both
of whom sincerely and vicariously experience events in these stories. Those sections
further illustrate the reality of the writing life. Work is accomplished while the author
and muse slog along, gossiping, sniping, mothering and imagining elaborate book deals
and Hollywood options. Incidentally, all sections depicting the author-as-character are
strictly fictional. Any similarity to the actual author's personality, temperament,
appearance, predilections, or habits are purely coincidental.
