Come Back to Me (The Lost and Founds #5) by Edmond Manning

360 pages

Publisher: Pickwick Ink Publishing

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

After years of lying, scheming, and dangerous manipulation, Vin Vanbly finally gets what's coming to him: love. 

How can he survive unstoppable, uncontrollable love when his very nature demands he control everything? Clues about his one true love—tantalizingly hinted at in each of the books in The Lost and Founds series—come together in four life-changing stories. 

In No Kings, a sex hookup with a parking lot stranger reveals more about Vin’s life as a Lost King and his destiny than he could have dreamed. In King Fitch, Vin meets the last king in his long legacy, one final weekend before he withdraws from the world to an anonymous Latin American jungle. The Lost Ones recounts a terrifying kidnapping by street thugs from Vin’s past. In King Malcolm the Restorer, Vin’s mysterious relationship with his older brother—and the soul-crushing secret which drew them together—is finally revealed.

Through it all, Vin Vanbly struggles to survive. But what if he is destined for more than mere survival? Is he finally ready to embrace the truth and remember who he was always meant to be? Once there were a tribe where every man was the one true king and every woman the one true queen…

Review

“It’s important a man makes his heart bigger throughout his whole life, to create room for all the love in its many forms.”

I just deleted almost 1200 words of the review I started to write for this book. Yes, you read that right, I did say ‘started to write’. That version contained detailed descriptions of everything I loved about Come Back to Me and I fully intend to keep it, as a reminder for myself. It won’t do as a review for others though, especially not for those who haven’t read this book yet.

Spoilers are, of course, always bad. One of the great joys I get from reading a book lies in discovering the truth in the story, in the moments I didn’t see coming, and those surprises that touch me deeply. I rarely look at reviews before reading a book, because being deprived of that joy hurts. So this will have to be a review without spoilers. And that’s a bit of a problem because it basically means I can tell you little to nothing about this story, except to say that it was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be and also so much more than I’d dreamed it could be.

You see, the four stories contained in this book are nothing but revelations of the always suspected but never confirmed truths. It was filled with moments I didn’t see coming, and yet made perfect sense as soon as they happened. Moments that touched me deeply in so many ways and so many times, I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin.

I had hopes for this book. I wanted to at last get to know Vin better. While I knew his back story would hurt, I also knew I needed those details in order to fully appreciate Vin’s magnificence. I was right on both counts. I’ve been rooting for a happy ending for Vin from the moment he was first introduced, and with every subsequent book, with every goodbye after a King Weekend, my need for his happiness grew stronger. Does he get it? That’s for me to know and for you to find out, but I will tell you that the ending, like the rest of the book, was perfect.

These are the stories of Vin’s journey towards his own crowning. It comes with ups and downs. I saw Vin lower and more afraid than I’d ever seen him before and yet, it was exactly what I needed in order to see all of Vin, and, more importantly, everything Vin needed to finally see all of himself. At the same time, I’ve never known Vin to be this playful, easy-going, and, dare I say it, happy either. This book forces both the reader and the characters to experience all the emotions. I laughed, I cried. I love and I hated. I feared and lost myself, mesmerised by the story and the revelations it brought. I whispered, shouted and pleaded with Vin and his co-stars, urging them on and trying to hold them back.

No, I’m not going to tell you anything about the story except to say that I was delighted that Vin at last got to connect with the man who could see:

The ‘grief boy who lives behind Vin’s eyes.

Yes, I had high hopes for this book and I can honestly say, Come Back to Me exceeded every single one of those. And while books probably can’t be kinged, this one, like its prequels, stands out as royalty among printed works.

Edmond Manning has, in me, found himself a fan for life. Here’s an author who demands everything, from himself, from his characters and from his readers. But in return he gives it all. He makes me wonder, fall in love, and more than anything, he makes me want to be and do better. Vin for all his (perceived) flaws is one of the most inspirational characters I’ve ever had the honour to meet. Edmond Manning’s gift with words is unique. He tells stories that don’t compare to anything else, creates characters unlike any you have met before, and he always has one more surprise up his sleeve. The Lost and Founds books are a treasure. And I still have one more to title to read; King Daniel awaits my attention. I’m torn between being unable to wait before I pick it up and not wanting to read it at all because as long as I ignore it, the story won’t end. Dilemmas, dilemmas.  

I’m going to end this ‘essay’ (yes, it’s over 1000 words again) by saying something I should probably have mentioned at the start. This book should not, under any circumstances, be read as a stand-alone. If you haven’t read the first four books, a lot of what happens in Come Back to Me won’t make sense to you, while this book would at the same time spoil those first four books for you. That’s not a bad thing though. All these The Lost and Founds books are stunning. Do yourself a favour and start with King Perry. Just be prepared to find yourself hooked.

Related reviews: King Perry | King Mai | The Butterfly King | King John

KING JOHN by Edmond Manning

KING JOHN by Edmond Manning

 

Pages: 245

Date: October 15, 2015

Details: no. 4 the Lost and Founds

Own / E-book

The blurb:

English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds? 

Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”

Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral into uncontrollable, explosive directions. 

In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.

My thoughts:

Allow me to start this review at the end: Really, Edmond Manning, I mean really? You’re leaving me hanging on not one but two cliffhangers? I’ve killed for less—that’s all I say.

Okay, now I have gotten that off my chest I should probably warn you that the chances of this turning into a coherent review are slim at best. It’s far more likely to turn into a quote-riddled gush fest, and you want to bear in mind I will have deleted numerous quotes which touched me as much as the ones I’ll keep did because, well, because this is supposed to be a review, not a novella J

I don’t want to say a lot about the story beyond what you can find in the blurb, I’m not sure I could do the story justice. My words are too clumsy, my interpretations too personal. Besides, the stories in this series should be experienced by the reader. It is more than ‘just’ an amazing reading experience. The Lost and Founds books provide us not only with fascinating characters and settings, they also force us to look at ourselves, our lives and the people around us. They invite us to ask ourselves if we are limiting ourselves and if yes, why we are doing that.

“Alistair, quit pressuring yourself. Kingship means something different for every man. Quit trying to box it up and get it right.”

As true as this is for Alistair in the book, I believe it’s equally true for us readers. I think while we all get the general message from these pages, we all discover individual truths in its words as well.

This is the fourth King story but it felt different from the previous three. The men in earlier books, Perry, May and Terrance, didn’t know they wanted or needed to be kinged, didn’t even know there was such a thing. Vin’s struggle was to keep them on a course towards a destination they didn’t know they wanted or needed.

Alistair on the other hand wants to be kinged. He searches out Vin and then refuses to follow Vin’s rules. This time it is Vin who needs to be constantly reassured that his protégé indeed wants what he says he wants, and realizes there’s a price to pay; a price both Vin and the reader fear may be too high for Alistair. But dealing with a man eager to find his inner King while reluctant to surrender to the process also forces Vin to look deeper into himself; is this hard because he’s dealing with a fraud or because he’s looking into a mirror showing him everything he needs to overcome in order to stop being a lost King?

“His King Weekend will be a huge disappointment, unless he stops seeking approval outside himself.”

“He wants to be discovered. He wants someone to find him, to reach beyond the iron fortifications he constructed, and see him. Love him, I know. We are cut from the same cloth.”

Alistair may be a lot like Vin, I think he’s also a lot like many of us, trying to learn lessons most of us could benefit from.

“The problem with a man like Alistair is no amount of praise, flattery of loving from the outside will impact his core. Not love from me, not love from any of the kings.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry, Alistair. I need you to understand the price you pay for getting your way. For choosing not to submit.”

“I don’t need to know your secrets, but as long as you don’t let anyone in, you’re trapped with them.”

This story hit me harder than the previous books did, the subjects it deals with are darker—dare I say it—uglier. And yet, while the tension grips you and the fear makes you read faster, they are dealt with in a loving, if not necessarily beautiful, way. It is tempting to go on about this. To spell out exactly what I mean, but I can’t do that without revealing those issues and that would mean spoiling the story for others, so that's a no go. I ask you to just trust me, to take my word for it. This story will shake you, may at times become very hard to read, and yet it will open your eyes and heart.

“Maybe I can’t become a Found King because I don’t remember who lives underneath this façade. Maybe this isn’t a façade at all and the real me is just really lost.”

“The more a man knows about his kingship, the less likely he himself will cross over.”

And Vin—oh Vin—I want to wrap him in my arms, hug him close and whisper in his ear that he already is a Found King. Because it takes one to know one. Because his love is huge. That all he needs to do is believe and it will be true. I want to tell him he makes me cry every time he recognises that another man is blocked because he’s made something huge out of a circumstance or past occurrence he never had any power over, while failing to see the same applies to him. Vin touches me in ways few, if any, fictional characters touch me. He’s more real to me than fictional characters have any right to be.

It’s the quiet, easy to miss, observations Vin makes about himself that break my heart. They’re in the story as if they’re passing thoughts, hardly worth our notice, and yet I feel they hold the key to the deeper truth Vin is looking for.

“I revel in how ordinary this feels, as if I could do this back home. Take a date out dancing. Hang out with friends. I can’t. But here—here at Burning Man—freaks fit in. I’m one of the gang. I’m normal.

Burning Man is the closest I’ve ever come to family.

Burning Man is like home.”

As with the previous Lost and Founds books, King John has left me both shaken and stirred. I’m emotionally wrecked and cursing the fact I’ll have to wait several months at least before the story will continue. And yet I feel enriched too. It is as if my heart has expanded, as if I can now see, understand and feel things that were just beyond my grasp before I started reading. And for that I am grateful. I thank Edmond Manning for making me think and feel, for allowing me to look at the world through a different lens and thus showing me things which were always there, just not always visible. I bless the day these books were suggested to me and will treasure them for as long as I have eyes to read or a brain to remember them with.

As predicted the piece - I wouldn't go so far as to call it a review - I wrote is a rambling mess. I'll therefore end it with one more quote. Because both the author and his protagonist are far better with words than I can ever hope to be.

“Though our roots be earthed in misery, and nurtured with our humbled tears, tomorrow’s hope is today’s firm green sprig, pushing upward, barely seen. Eager to unfold, to manifest the unknowing directions, we grow. We are all destined for Spring.”

THE BUTTERFLY KING

THE BUTTERFLY KING by Edmond Manning

 

Pages: 350

Date: 23/09/2014

Grade: 6

Details: no. 3 The Lost and Founds

Kindle

The blurb:

“Terrance Altham doesn’t know why he’s been arrested. He’s committed no crime and the cops aren’t talking. Sadly, the man sharing his holding cell talks too much. Known only as Ghost, he is a young grifter, apparently familiar enough with this police station to convince Terrance a break out is possible, and pushy enough to leave Terrance no choice but to follow Ghost into the underbelly of New York City.

Terrified by the unjust imprisonment and the possibility of a life behind bars, Terrance searches for proof of his innocence while Ghost seeks the elusive Butterfly King. But neither man seems in control of the weekend’s direction and the consequences of missteps are life-changing. As Ghost’s manipulations come to an explosive head, each man must decide amid danger and street violence what kind of man will triumph, lost or found?

Narrator Vin Vanbly (a.k.a Ghost) returns in the most revealing King Weekend yet, where he faces the dark side of his dangerous manipulations, and learns mistakes can be deadly. Vin must confront sinister dealings from his past—and a future promising disaster—as he waltzes Terrance across Manhattan in spring, searching for the elusive and charismatic, Butterfly King.”

My thoughts:

“It’s a heavy burden, trying to love a world that doesn’t seem to love you back.”

Before I say anything else I would like to point out this is the third title in an ongoing series. I can’t recommend reading these books in the right order enough.. While each book tells a wonderful tale of its own, the magnificence of this story only shines through in all its glory if you read the story as the author intended. And that includes reading the chapters of book six, King Daniel, as they are posted on Edmond Mannings website.

The King Daniel chapters are not random filler material. They remind us of what’s gone before and give us (probably crucial) hints of what’s still to come.

Chapters four to seven bring Daniel to New York where he hopes to find The Butterfly King. Given Daniel’s difficulty walking, New York is a bit of a nightmare for him. But as difficult as it is to get around and no matter how hopeless his quest appears at times, he cannot bring himself to give up. His need to find the Found Kings and discover if he too could be found, is far bigger than his anger against the world and his fear when he’s moving around.

Reading about Daniel’s need to look down all the time to make sure he’s on firm ground and his sudden desire to start looking up, reminded me of one of my favourite Dutch songs. I took a chance and searched YouTube for an English version of the song and found this really beautiful one: ‘Sammy’.

***

Do you ever get pre-read anxiety? I was desperate to read The Butterfly King. But then, when I had the book as well as the time to read it, I found myself procrastinating. You can only read a book for the first time once. And I know there’s going to be a wait for book number four. If I didn’t start The Butterfly King now, that wait would be shorter. But I had the book and needed to know the next part of the story. But... You get my drift. In the end curiosity won out and I lost myself in another of Edmond Manning’s Lost and Founds tales.

The story of Vin’s seventh ‘kinging’ throws you straight into the action. A man called Ghost is waiting in a New York prison cell for his cellmate. Terrence, The Butterfly King, is about to start his King Weekend in prison.

I’m not going to say anything else about the story as such. It should be read, experienced even, without preconceptions and expectations. Edmond Manning has created characters and a world to lose yourself in. The dialogue and Vin’s thoughts draw you into the story. It is impossible not to feel Vin’s pain, his fear and the love he has for the man he’s spending a weekend with. I read whole sections of this story with tears in my eyes. Vin’s conviction that he’s unworthy of love and that those who think they love him would stop feeling that way the moment they found out what he has done in the past, was heartbreaking. Vin has such a huge capacity to love inside him and yet can’t believe that others, not even his Kings, might be as capable of unconditional love towards him.

I’ve slowly (far more slowly than I should have) come to the realisation this is a philosophical series of books as much as it is a work of fiction. These stories and Vin’s theories force you to think about things like curiosity, or, in this book, fear.

 “But if a man spends his life fighting fear, keeping it at bay with logic and rationalizations, he doesn’t notice fear exacting its toll, draining him, preventing his ability to access true power. That’s the dark wizard’s greatest curse, not draining you enough to notice and fight back, but embedding fear so deeply, you forget to consider achieving your greatness.”

Reading the Lost and Founds books forces you to examine how you approach the world yourself. Are you living your life in the best way possible, are you allowing all your potential to emerge or is fear holding you back?

“Fear never collects enough love, enough money, enough power.”

Terrence, he who is destined to become the Butterfly King, has to come to terms with everything that happened to him in the past and to forgive those he’s blaming for the way his life got derailed, before he can live without fear holding him back.

“(...) Lost Kings have to let something die to become Found Kings again. They have to shed a comfortable burden to become a better version of themselves. Give up living on the sidelines. Give up feeling sorry for themselves. Stop blaming others. The price of power is a new burden. The gateway is often grief.”

The moment he decides to embrace life, despite all the obstacles, was glorious.

“I’m going to live Ghost. (...) No matter if my world crumbles around me. I’m going to live in these moments.”

We meet a different Vin Vanbly in this book. Since the story is set earlier than the two previous titles, he’s obviously younger. But it is more than that. This Vin isn’t nearly as sure of himself as he is in King Perry or KingMai. He’s making mistakes, doesn’t know the man he’s going to King as well as he should, and feels out of his depth at times. Vin is pushing Terence harder than he’s ever pushed anyone and wonders, on several occasions, if he’s gone too far.

As we get further into this series, the stories are less about the men Vin ‘kings’ and more about Vin himself. We get to know Vin through the men he picks. Perry, Mai and Terrence are like mirrors, showing Vin what he needs to learn, what is lacking in his life and what is possible. There are moments when Vin gets that message loud and clear but his dislike and distrust of himself are too big to allow him to take the message on board.

“I’m just like him. I also use fear to masquerade what I truly want, and in moments of clarity, I can admit the thing I want is always the same: to be loved.”

Those moments of clarity shatter my heart and make me want to dive into the book, find Vin, and wrap my arms around him while whispering that he’s more than good enough, that all he needs is the strength to forgive himself for what happened when he didn’t know any better. But Vin isn’t there yet. While he catches glimpses of the way forward, he is not yet able to walk down that path.

“(...) I missed an opportunity to practice being a Found One, to be open to feedback and truly listen without my shit getting in the way.” – Vin

And yet, every man Vin ‘kings’ brings him closer to the moment when he too will be able to embrace his greatness.

“Something old and broken is less broken.”

I have no idea exactly what it means and have got a feeling it may be a while before I find out, but I can’t help feeling the following quote will prove to be pivotal:

“Watch for the king whose initials are D.C. He will unmake you. He’s coming to destroy you. You could stop him, but if you do, the Great Remembering never happens.”

And my heart broke when Vin drew his, almost certainly wrong, conclusion from that prediction.

Now that I’ve finished The Butterfly King and its darker story, part of me wants to read the rest of it immediately. Another part of me isn’t sure it could endure Vin’s story before the events in this book. I’ve been shown glimpses of it from the start and know it will be brutal and heart-shattering and probably man-breaking. And I suspect it has to happen. Before you can King a man you have to break him after all.

Something rather amazing happened while I was reading this book. A rather loud flapping noise tore me out of the story. When I looked up I saw a beautiful butterfly desperately trying to flee my house through a closed door. I was so engrossed in the story there wasn’t a lot I would have put the book down for, but I did just that for the butterfly. It took me a few minutes and quite a lot of gentle coaxing, but eventually the butterfly managed to find its way through the door I had opened, and back to freedom.

I’ll end my ramblings with a quote that made my heart sing.

“A feeling, a foreign one, flits through me, a fiery red cardinal dashing from twig to twig in my brambled heart. Hope.”

Related post: Interview with Edmond Manning

KING MAI

KING MAI by Edmond Manning

Pages: 350

Date:  10/09/2014

Grade: 6

Details: No. 2 The Lost and Founds

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“Adopted from Thailand and never one to fit in with the local bubbas, life has been rough around the edges for Mai Kearns, even before he came out of the closet. Now, almost ten years past the torture of high school, Mai still can't catch a break: he and his parents stand to lose their beloved farm.

How will a “King Weekend” help change Mai’s fate? What has narrator Vin Vanbly been up to for the four weeks he’s been sneaking around Mai’s hometown? At the urging of a ransom note from ‘The Lost Kings,’ Mai embarks on an impossible treasure hunt chasing mystic poetry, Fibonacci Hopscotch, ancient prophecy, the letter ‘x,’ and a confounding, penguin-marching army.

The stakes are high: if Mai fails, the Lost Kings will permanently claim him as their own. Finding the treasure may unlock the secret to saving his family farm. But can this angry farmer risk opening his broken heart before the weekend is over? Mai Kearns has 40 hours to get very, very curious in this second installment of The Lost and Founds.”

My thoughts:

I read and fell in love with ‘King Perry’ a few months ago. Friends told me to read King Mai as soon as I finished that book, but I resisted temptation. I wanted to cherish what I had read first, allow the story and its message to percolate in my mind before moving on. Besides, I knew King Mai would not be the end of the story of the Lost and Found Kings and the sooner I read the book the longer I would have to wait for the next instalment.

Last week the cover for the third book, ‘The Butterfly King’ was revealed. It is due to come out later this month. I took that announcement as my cue to start reading ‘King Mai’.

First I took a detour to Edmond Manning’s website. Our author has been kind enough to post the first chapters of ‘King Daniel’, which will be book six (yes, you read that right SIX). The first three of those chapters should be read after ‘King Perry’ but before ‘King Mai’ and give us a glimpse at Perry’s life after his weekend with Vin. Of course they also introduce us to Mai and make us curious about ‘King Daniel’. Our author sure knows how to tease us.

I finished those first three chapters and was a good girl. I resisted temptation and did not read on. The next four chapters should be read between ‘King Mai’ and ‘The Butterfly King’. Since I don’t want to ruin what so far has been a perfect reading experience I intend to play by the rules and read this story as it’s meant to be read. What follows is my review (also known as gush-fest) of ‘King Mai’.

“It’s exhausting to hate what you love and love what you hate.”

When we first encounter Mai Kearns he is one very angry young man. Having spent his life as the odd one out in the community where he grew up, and after losing his first love, he now faces the impending loss of the only home he’s ever known as well as his family’s source of income.

Vin Vanbly is on a quest to reunite Mai with his natural curiosity and sense of wonder but for a long time it appears to be an impossible mission as Mai’s anger and frustration continue to get in the way.

“Kearns, it’s all a waste of time. All of it. Until the minute it’s not. Then every moment perfectly led us there.”

With his usual mix of clues, misdirection and stories about the Lost and Found Kings, Vin brings Mai to breaking point only for Mai to resurface, stronger and more determined to reach his goals than ever.

In the midst of this story the reader is treated to endless amounts of pearls of wisdom and quotable passages. I tried to restrain myself but still ended up with the following quotes I felt I had to share because they spoke to my heart, brought tears to my eyes and/or made me smile.

The following, for example, is a universal truth, not reserved only for men.

“We are so busy defining ourselves as gay men and straight men, we forget we share a whole word in common. We are men.”

And this quote, about love and waiting for that special one who’s meant just for you, broke my heart:

“When you’re single all the time, like I am, it’s hard to remain curious about that one true love, to keep your heart open to the possibility of its eventual return. We want it, we court it, we dream about it. The one thing we cannot do is control it. Love comes for us or not. The curious remain on a train platform, waiting for an imminent arrival. We look at the silent tracks and wait for their vibration, promising love is on the way.”

I returned to the following sentence over and over again. I live for the day this will be true.

“Once we’re all on the same page celebrating not being on the same page, the world transforms.”

And finally (for now) the following; so simple and yet so true. Surrender to life and it will all come together. Maybe not in a way we expected or hoped for, but come together it will.

“All he had to do was surrender.”

A scene I won’t quote from but which stole my heart with its sheer beauty was the one involving the Butterfly Tree. Not only was the description of the tree beautiful and so vivid I could see it, the whole set up and all it revealed to Mai brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. It was as magical a moment as I’ve ever experienced while reading.

While I was totally engrossed in Mai’s story and quest, I was as invested in Vin and his emotions. For the second time Vin broke my heart. I can’t read about him thinking he’s not good enough, doesn’t know enough or isn’t clever enough without hurting for him. I hate how he can’t see all the good he’s doing. I guess Vin’s story was harder to read than Mai’s (and Perry’s) because I knew Mai (like Perry) would find his Kinghood despite all the obstacles he would encounter along the way. The clue is in the title. There is no real happy ending for Vin though. He gets the satisfaction of having ‘kinged’ another man but he still ends up alone and still sees himself as not good enough to deserve the same outcome.

“I like to believe there’s a big secret to becoming a Found King and it simply eludes me. But what if there is no big secret? What if I’m just a terrible person and don’t want to admit it to myself? Or maybe I’m just not smart enough. If I had gone to college I would know a better way to do this. Who knows? Maybe college doesn’t even help if you’re just a fuckup at life.”

Edmond Manning writes like no other author I’ve ever read. He appears to break every single rule known to men, writers and editors, and ends up with a work of sheer brilliance. He doesn’t tell his readers a story he brings them on an adventure. We’re not observing proceedings from a distance, we are part of them. These characters become as important to us as our closest friends are. In fact, they join the ranks or those friends.

Finally, it was both rewarding and spooky to read a story revolving around what has been my personal mantra for at least the past fifteen years. On my Facebook author page the cover photo states ‘It’s never too late to be what you might have been’. Or, as Vin says to Mai in this book:

“But the Found Kings have a prophecy about end times as well, which they call the Great Remembering. It’s less of an end of times and more of a new dawn as every Lost King and Queen remembers who they were always meant to be.”

And:

“It’s time, Kearns. Time for you to remember who you were always meant to be.”

I’m in awe of Edmond Manning’s genius. If there is a ‘Storyteller King’ I know his name and am honoured to call him a friend.

KING PERRY

KING PERRY by Edmond Manning

Pages: 343

Date: 06/07/2014

Grade: 6

Details: no. 1 The Lost and Founds

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“In a trendy San Francisco art gallery, out-of-towner Vin Vanbly witnesses an act of compassion that compels him to make investment banker Perry Mangin a mysterious offer: in exchange for a weekend of complete submission, Vin will restore Perry's "kingship" and transform him into the man he was always meant to be.

 Despite intense reservations, Perry agrees, setting in motion a chain of events that will test the limits of his body, seduce his senses, and fray his every nerve, (perhaps occasionally breaking the law) while Vin guides him toward his destiny as "the one true king."

Even as Perry rediscovers old grief and new joys within himself, Vin and his shadowy motivations remain enigmas: who is this offbeat stranger guiding them from danger to hilarity to danger? To emerge triumphant, Perry must overcome the greatest challenge alone: embracing his devastating past. But can he succeed by Sunday's sunrise deadline? How can he possibly evolve from an ordinary man into King Perry?

A Bittersweet Dreams title: It's an unfortunate truth: love doesn't always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.”

---------------------------------------------------------

My thoughts:

I bought this book on the basis of a quote:

“...have you ever done anything so significantly outrageous, so beautiful and insane, that on days when your life feels dull, these shining moments leap out? Do you have an answer to the question ‘Did I live? Did I touch the world?’”

The quote was posted on Facebook by A.J. Rose an author I adore and who consistently blows me away with his words and stories. If he was quoting and recommending a certain book, I didn’t need any further encouragement. I bought the book, started reading and got lost in a world I didn’t know existed. And, as my rating above shows, it was one of my better decisions – even if it did disrupt every plan I had for my weekend. I do not give a book six out of five very often. When I do it is a sure indication the book has touched me in ways I wasn’t expecting and won’t forget.

Before you read on let me warn you; this is not going to resemble a review. This post won’t be like my usual reflections on books. It’s going to be too long, contain too many quotes and won’t stop gushing.

This is the sort of review where I flounder, find myself lost for words. Not a single one of the words I know (in two languages), no sentence I could string together can convey what this book did to me, or live up to the wonderful beauty and powerful expressiveness of the words in ‘King Perry’. Or, as it says in the book:

“Can anyone articulate the language of the heart?”

I’m not going to say a whole lot about the actual story. You can read what you need to know in the blurb and the rest should be experienced. Yes, experienced; you don’t read this book, you live it. You feel every single emotion, see the sights and get lost and found in the wonder of it all. You may put the book down (always reluctantly) because there is something you really need to do, it won’t mean you’ve put the story down; it will accompany you, pull at you and make you hurry through your task to get back to it.

The image of the Kings and Queens losing their lustre, forgetting their power was as heartbreaking as it was recognisable. It is an inescapable fact of life that all of us encounter the end of innocence sooner or later. At some point all of us find ourselves face to face with the real world, suddenly forced to exchange our dreams for the stark reality of having to make our own way. When the things we considered certainties in our lives are suddenly taken away we all have to reassess who we are and how we live. Some of us might wish we had a Vin to help us along. Regardless of his methods.

“They forgot that they served a higher mission, lived in devotion to a kingdom where all men were necessary and equally blessed. Many became lost.”

“This is what the remaining kings called them, the Lost Kings or the Lost Ones. Men who forgot their gold vanishing into a world that looks much like our own.”

On the surface this is the story of Vin saving Perry from himself, from the darkness he’s allowed himself to get lost in, from the pain that has become so familiar he doesn’t even know he’s carrying it with him anymore.

“When Perry sees his gray-suited grief, he barely recognises that part of himself; it’s just another bank customer making his regular withdrawal.”

“I think long ago, Perry’s heart made unwelcome room for sadness, and then believing that it could handle no more, slammed itself shut, preventing joy’s free roam.”

Dig a little bit deeper and the story is about Vin as much as it is about Perry. Perry isn’t the only one who needs to start looking at himself and his life in a new, brighter, light. While Vin may know he has work to do, I think there are a few things about himself he doesn’t see; things that are obvious to those he helps and easy to spot for the reader.

Can a story be whimsically profound or profoundly whimsical? If there is such a thing, this book is its prime example. I think Edmond Manning may have broken every single rule anybody ever established with regard to writing and created something exquisite in the process. His descriptions spring to life before your eyes.

“Staring at these hills already blanketed in soft mist, a person might believe that the land got jealous of the ocean’s whale population and created these hills in loving imitation.”

“The sun seems fascinated to get closer to this paradise landscape, and keeps dropping half inch by half inch in the west. Tenderly he flies to his lover, the Ocean, who twists in delight with his imminent arrival. ‘Patience, my love,’ the Sun whispers in long golden rays. ‘Soon I am yours.’”

And his insights on subjects such as joy, kissing, forgiveness, and the loss of a loved one are almost overwhelmingly too close to the truth. They hit home, make you sit up and think, examine your own experiences and your reactions to them.

“I think Joy sleeps in strange places. We’re always looking for her in shiny, happy, fun times, assuming that Joy prefers her twin brother, Pleasure, when she often hangs out with her somewhat stoic big sister, Strength. Joy is not always easy to recognize, dirt-smudged and sweating, brambles in her hair. I want to believe she sometimes wears a ski mask.”

“Kissing is such a surreal way to interact. You press your squishiest part to his and read the connection in a dozen ways: the level of affection, the warmth of feeling, the need to dominate, the ability to explore, and various shades of hesitancy. All that communication from such a slender little strip of flesh.”

I want to think this is one of the pictures Vin and Perry took

“I wonder sometimes why we don’t have more words to express forgiveness. The words we use are so trite, so limited. How do you describe that first melting of a friend’s face after a vicious fight, the moment when you suddenly know that eventually, you will survive this. (...) The body expresses forgiveness before the brain agrees. Where are the words for those shifts that later evolve into full forgiveness.”

“But people underestimate how a father’s death impacts a young boy. They don’t understand what it means when the man you assumed would teach you everything suddenly doesn’t exist. He doesn’t die exclusively that one time when everyone wore black and cried. He dies every birthday. He dies at school award presentations when he’s not beaming amid the proud parents, and when that horny teenager has no one to avoid for awkward discussions of wet dreams. His father dies every time Perry says, ‘Don’t worry, that happened back when I was a kid. I’m over it.’”

Oh my God. The ‘forgiveness castle’ took my breath away. That has to be one of the most beautiful and profound tales (fables?) I’ve ever read. Goose bumps, admiration and wonder only begin to describe how I felt when I read those words. I would love to share them here but can’t help feeling that this review is by now more than long enough. Besides, if the quotes above haven’t tempted you yet, one more won’t make a difference.

This is a life affirming story, a fable to make you think about how you approach life, what is holding you back and all the things you’ve allowed to stand between yourself and true happiness. This book asks you to open your eyes to your past, your present and what you want for the future. It forces you to look at yourself and ask if you truly are being your best self, living your best life.

I’m delighted a sequel to this wonderful book is already available. I’ve just bought it and although I’m tempted to read it straight away I won’t. I need some time to allow this story to settle inside me. I also want to be able to read ‘King Mai’ with as few interruptions as possible and that’s the sort of commitment I can’t make for another 13 days.

This may well be the longest review I’ve ever written and yet I feel it doesn’t begin to convey all my feelings about the book. Like I said above, I just don’t have the words to articulate everything I feel. I will say that Edmond Manning has found himself a loyal fan for life, just as I have found an author I need to read and share with the world.

I’ll end this review with one more quote because it is a truth I was brought up on and something I always try to remember.

“It hurts to live with a broken promise.”