First published 1971
Terence Wheeler's 1971 novel takes readers into a world where characters grapple with questions of origin and destination. The protagonist faces the pull between earthly attachments and something beyond ordinary experience. Wheeler builds tension through the contrast between familiar domestic life and the call of an otherworldly realm. The story unfolds as characters must choose between comfort and transcendence, between staying rooted and answering a higher summons. The central conflict drives toward moments where loyalty, faith, and personal desire collide. Wheeler writes with restraint, letting the emotional weight emerge through action rather than sentiment. The novel asks what we owe to the places and people we know, and what we owe to callings that demand we leave everything behind.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: choice-between-comfort-and-transcendence, loyalty-and-personal-desire-collide
Period: 1971
236 pages · Hardcover · Macmillan