Do You Realize?

I’m reviewing this novel on behalf of Rosie’s Book Review Team. Thanks to Rosie and to the author for this opportunity. If you are an author and are looking for reviews, you can check here.
It is a bit difficult to categorise this story. It is not straight science-fiction, although there are sci-fi elements (a strange app that allows people to travel between dimensions and parallel universes), elements of family drama (a man in crisis who can no longer stand his job, whose teenage children are having difficulties, whose relationship with his wife is starting to suffer, and who experiences a number of tragedies in his life), and much discussion about the philosophy of life, humanity, the future, and matters that could fit into the category of spiritual and inspirational literature.
The novel follows the story of George, who has a managerial position in an insurance company but hates his job, and whose whole life seems to have lost its zest and momentum. He meets a man in the train, Shiloh, who asks him interesting questions (all related to song titles that also serve as chapter titles) that make him think and who keeps challenging his beliefs. At some point, he gives him an Apple watch and tells him to test an App of his creation. This App allows him to travel to his own past, only it is not his real past. He can travel to a parallel dimension and relive a day in his life, but instead of his real life, it is the life of a different version of him in that dimension. So his experience in that world is not necessarily the same but it has many points of contact with the one he already lived through. Whatever happens in one version of the world does not impact another. Although to begin with, he travels with the intention of changing things in his present, he soon realises that is not possible. He becomes frustrated as he is not sure why he has been chosen or the whole purpose of the experiment and Shiloh is less than forthcoming. George needs to come to terms with what his life is really about and learn what is really important.
There is nothing peculiar or remarkable about George at first sight. He loves his wife, Elena, a stay at home mom, but their relationship has become lost in everyday tension, problems, and stress. He is not particularly insightful and his life does not appear to be important. It is not evident why Shiloh has chosen him. Perhaps the fact that there is nothing particularly remarkable or peculiar about him is intended to make the readers find it easier to put themselves in his shoes and follow the process, as he is a very familiar and recognisable character, even if we do not share his personal attributes or his life story.
I liked the interaction between George and Shiloh and the fact that he was a pretty mysterious but engaging character. I liked his T-shirts (always with funny puns on Physics-related subjects) and his enthusiasm. His interactions with George were definitely more tell than show, and they made me think at times of Philosophy treatises, like Plato’s Dialogues, even if the ideas were based more on concepts and theories of modern Physics, Ethics, music, and even sports.
The novel is divided into a number of sections. First, we have the conversations between George and Shiloh that I found illuminating and fascinating, although at times they could be frustrating and somewhat repetitive; especially when George seemed a bit slow in understanding some of the ideas and the concepts.
Second, we have George’s everyday life, where we get to know his wife, and his daughter, and son, although I felt I knew more about the children than about the parents, particularly George. That is likely due to the fact that the story, although told in the third person, is told mostly from George’s point of view (until the very end of the novel, where we see Shiloh’s perspective), and although he shares some memories, he reflects and thinks more about his family than he does about himself. They are all nice at heart and, in many ways, their problems are very much those of a fairly privileged society, until tragedy strikes.
Third, we have the chapters where George travels in time and he starts to realise what his life is really about.
And last, but not least, there are the dreams. One of the side effects of those trips are very vivid and weird dreams and these seem to be consist of visions of what most of us would think time travel would be like, as these dreams take him from prehistoric times to a faraway future.
Although I was not sure how connected I felt to George’s character, towards the end I felt engaged with him and his family (perhaps because I could personally relate to some of the things they go through as a family). Although it was more of an intellectual experience than an emotional one for most of the book, I did become attached to the family by the end. And the book gave me much to think about.
The book reminded me a novel I read not long ago, The Beauty of the Fall by Rich Marcello (you can check my review here), and although the stories and the writing styles are quite different, both of them went beyond the plot to question much bigger things.
The novel flows and ebbs. It is not a fast read, but it is an engaging one and I wanted to keep reading, intrigued, like the protagonist by what Shiloh would come up with next. I did not find his explanations of physics, ethics, and other concepts complex to understand and, apart from some moment of irritation when George seems to find it difficult to accept and understand what is happening, I found the style of writing easy to follow, with heavy moments and some lighter ones, and I thought the balance between the theoretical discussions and the life drama was well-achieved for most of the book.
I’d recommend this book to people looking for inspiring books and books providing bite-size information about recent theories in Physics, Ethics, and views of the world we live in that will make them think about the future and reconsider their priorities. I think lovers of music (Rock and Roll in particular) and sports will enjoy it in particular.This is not a book full of action for those who love adventures, or a standard sci-fi book, so I’d recommend readers to check a sample of the book and see how they feel.

This is one of those books you read that challenges your thinking, beliefs and leaves you changed.

I thought this was one of the best books I’ve read all year. It’s Sci-Fi with a time travel aspect and story about a family who are dealing with the “real world.” I laughed, I learned a lot about scientific theories, cried a bunch and was sorry when the book ended.
Thank you Mr. Kuhn. And please write another book…

DSJ

This is kind of like a sci-fi version of “It’s A Wonderful Life” where the main character needs an alternate life perspective in order to see what’s important in his life and how he is important in connection with others. This one is written with a premise of parallel multiverses and is quite well written – nothing heavy, but inspiring and may be worth a second read-through further down the road.

Didn’t think I would like this, but it was a very positive book to read during these negative times

I wrote a review when I finished it on 3/1/20 at end of book.
John Lowery

Kevin A. Kuhn nails time travel in this sci-fi adventure of alternare parrelles in one man’s past.

George is dealing with seemingly familiar days. He and his family are distracted with work, school, sports, and accidents that keep happening. George is stuck in a rut, when he meets a man named Shiloh on a morning commuter train. Shiloh has some important questions to ask George. George is given an Apple watch to beta test. He finds out he can travel back in time to answer some questions, and get some perspective on his life.

This book is an A+. An amazing read. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, always wondering what will happen next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book – very thought provoking – makes for great self reflection from a unique perspective.

What a wonderful book!! I loved it and would recommend it to anyone! When I read the blurb, I thought it would be a light sci-fi book, and it is. But it’s so much more than that! It’s the story of a family on the cusp of great changes that could make or break them. And the story of life, death, choices, the universe, the multiverse, and one man who courageously lives even though he’s not quite sure what he’s doing. I’m going to save this book in my library because I plan to read it over and over again. It’s a keeper!!

I bought this book because it seemed like an intriguing story, and I wasn’t disappointed. And, having lived in Chicago for two years, I appreciated the fact that this story is set in Chicago. Kevin Kuhn does a great job of developing his characters, especially George and his family. They are all very rounded, three-dimensional people whom you could easily recognize as the neighbor next door, down the street, or a colleague at work.

While the premise of traveling between parallel universes has been explored by other writers before, Kuhn’s take on it is certainly well thought-out and executed. Furthermore, while George’s travels between parallel universes does provide a science-fictional element to the story, I would not classify this novel as science fiction, because the story is tightly focused on the personal development of George and his family.

But this story is far more than a tale about George’s life, or the lessons he learns from his trans-dimensional travels, his trans-dimensional mentor Shiloh, and his experiences in the real world, for this novel is at its heart a philosophical treatise cleverly packaged as a very engaging story. This story becomes the vehicle for Kevin Kuhn to communicate his philosophy about life, which is essentially the Taoist teaching of Yin and Yang repackaged in terms of the interaction between order and chaos, and the need to pursue progress, positivity, and love in life.

Kuhn does an excellent job of presenting his updated version of Yin and Yang, yet in the end, I remain unpersuaded. Other ancient philosophers spoke of telos, a Greek word that means end, or goal – or, if you will, – purpose. What is the ultimate end of human existence? According to Kuhn, the ultimate end of our lives is to find the balance between order and chaos, and to allow that tension to drive us to help make the world a better place through fostering progress in developing human character along a more positive path, bringing greater positivity into the lives of individuals and into society as a whole, and to practice and encourage others to love one another more fully. These values are certainly far better than the current me-centered values American society has placed on individual autonomy and seeking personal gratification above all else, yet they ultimately lack telos. Although Kuhn leaves open the question of what happens after we die, he seems to lean toward thinking that death is simply the end, that once we die, there is nothing, and once the sun destroys the Solar System, that is the end of the human race. I find that unsatisfying, because if one embraces that view of life, then what is the purpose of life – even with all the good values Kuhn espouses – if all of our accomplishments and all of humanity’s accomplishments will ultimately turn into cosmic dust?

As a Christian, I believe we all have a telos that is greater than simply the improvement of our personal lives and the betterment of society. To echo the words of the Westminster Catechism, I believe the chief end of humans is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. It is by doing this that we are not only able to make the world a better place, but if we live our lives to glorify God in all that we say and do, then our accomplishments will be truly lasting, and will even have eternal impact.

Still, I found this book a very engaging story that captures much of the zeitgeist of our times. If you do choose to read this amazing novel, I advise you to be aware of Kevin Kuhn’s philosophy, and to not be afraid to critique it carefully.