Thomas Grissom

Parodies of the Fall Thomas Grissom

Over the course of several evenings, in a fashionable bar and lounge situated in the foothills at the edge of a large desert city, the narrator tells his strange story. Under the guise of trying to discover the meaning of life as it should be, he instead slowly reveals life as it is. What unfolds is a story about the dilemmas faced by twenty-first-century man, the scientist-technician in the words of the narrator, and as such it becomes the moral autobiography of anyone and everyone. What renders the story provoking and compelling is the peculiar stance adopted by the narrator relative to the events of his story. There is a philosophic and parodic tone to the narrative, behind which the narrator maneuvers, poses, postures, confounds, and gradually reveals his meaning. From his youthful pursuit of truths revealed by science and technology, to his growing alienation and estrangement from society, to his eventual reconciliation with art and the role of the artist, the narrator surveys the cultural landscape of our time. What the reader witnesses is the development of a modern human consciousness. The twists and turns of the narrator's position are on the surface paradoxical and puzzling. Is he merely an incurable romantic, a cynic or only a realist? The story related by the narrator is fairly straightforward and clear. But what meaning to ascribe to the events revealed by the narrative is posed as a problem for the reader, leaving the reader to ponder at last what, if anything, is resolved. Includes Readers Guide.