The House of Great Spirit

The Locales Of These Stories Range From California And Utah To Massachusetts And Vermont. The Characters Seek A Paradise Of One Kind Or Another But Have To Make Do With The World Such As It Is -- And All Attendant Twists And Turns. Had This Book A Motto It Would Be Dont Let The Bastards Grind You Down. In The House Of Great Spirit The Title Story In This Collection The Narrator Lives In A Small Room In A Big Three-Story Red Brick Boarding House In Salt Lake City Where The Live-In-Manager Was Jon Severs. Already Only In His Mid-Twenties Lanky Severs Had Found His Calling. It Was His Job To Scold The Tenants At Jack Mead'S House In Mead'S Stead To Bawl Them Out. On Rent Day He Went Room To Room To Collect Money. If You Didn'T Pay At Once He Screwed His Face Up In A Look Of Almost Crushing Contempt. Though There Are Also Incidences Of Grace Courage And Joy Along The Way Things Generally Go From Bad To Worse. They Say Its Always Good To Touch Bottom In Order To Start Over Again. A Female Narrator Once Married To The Character Eben Anders Admits There Were Times I Wished We'D Never Met. When We Did First Meet I Fell For Him. She Tells The Story Of How As A Younger Man Eben Had Found A Treasure Not Only Of Money But Also Of Revelations. Finding Himself In The Role Of Prophet Eben Was Denounced As A Madman Liar Scoundrel False Prophet And The Rest. He'D Be Accused Of Witchcraft Wizardry Demonism And Freemasonry With A Mind To Eventual World Subjugation. He'D Even Be Called The Living Anti-Christ. Dont Kill The Messenger Is All Eben Would Ever Say To All Of That. They Say You Cant Win For Losing. His Ex-Wife Having Divorced Eben And Renounced Ebenism Is Now Accused Of Destroying Uncounted Sacred Privileges And Worlds And Futures. Shes Having None Of That. In With A View To The Sea Librarian Lars Donnelly Tells The Story Of His Voyage From His West Coast Roots To His Marriage And Years Of Parenting In The East. Lars Had Explained It To His Wife I Don'T Want My Kids To Be Asking Me In Future Years 'What Did You Do In The Internet Revolution Daddy?' And Have To Tell Them That I'D Just Played It Safe. He Proposes Going With His Teenage Son Sean To An Important Conference Ebooks And Libraries Taking Place In Southern California Right On The Oceanfront. They Reached The Convention Center Around Half Past Eight Giving Them Plenty Of Time To Take Advantage Of The Free Continental Breakfast While Hobnobbing Or Not With The Growing Throngs Of Librarians Library Trustees Heads Of Library Friends Groups Chief Executive Officers Directors Of Operations Product Managers Senior And Junior Business Development Managers Senior And Junior Systems Analysts And A Broad Swath Of Consultants Hackers Geeks And Gawkers. And Maybe A Ghost From The Past. They Say What Goes Around Comes Around But What Could Possibly Go Wrong?