Journey to Virginland~R/GA~

Synopsis:   The protagonist, a loutish and uber-cerebral antihero known simply as Dog, takes on the challenge to navigate the perilous paradigm shifts of our age, determined to find his proper place under the sun.  Dog pursues the answer unrelentingly, through an impassioned quest for identity and meaning. He revisits his relationships with women, family, literature, and homeland, in the process illuminating his journey with commentaries on history, religion, politics, and culture that unravel our very fabric.  Marked by biting satire and tappings into lushest scholarship, Dog's naked critique touches on some of the most pressing issues facing humanity: the arrogance of empire and organized religion, the persistence of bigotry, xenophobia, and social Darwinism, the double standards of sexual politics, the bankrupt rationale behind patriotism and state propaganda, and hypercapitalism and consumerism, among others. An ocean of struggles and epiphanies takes Dog to a spiritual ground zero called Virginland, where the story unfolds. It is also in Virginland that Dog unearths an ancient calendar based on a cosmic worldview. His discovery reveals the mythological underpinnings of the Zodiac, subverting the current conventional wisdom about the subject. 

Did the synopsis leave you confused?  Do not worry, me too! Let me put what this book is about in normal people terms : Some really smart guy, the author,  uses really big words in a dystopian type of book.  He pulls from all the cultural differences that the world has and lays them out for us using literature.  The author portrays the main character, Dog, as a single traveling man who is caught up in all the bias the world places on one another.  As I read the novel I could honestly say I could pinpoint what culture he was talking about while telling his tale.  Journey to Virginland does make you think and wonder how in the world there are such different perspectives on life and how people live their lifestyles.  Although we live in a rural area, we travel a lot when we can go.  I am very outgoing, loud and stick out like a sore thumb with my blonde hair.  Some people give me the stare down while we are in other countries, but it is the cultural differences between countries and religions.  As Dog traveled through the fictional world and discussed how the views of women were, I understood why I was getting the 'stink eye' from people.  Even though Dog's world is fictional, it definitely combines real life experiences and honest to goodness real impressions people have on others. 

Enter to win your own copy of this eye opener!  It has won many awards and is a great read!

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