Fantastic grandfather-grandson adventure in search of ancestral roots
When his last grandson was born, grandfather was concerned about the possibility that his wife’s sojourn in this world would be forgotten, as she left too early in life.
He decided to create an almost magical way of traveling through time in order to have this newborn child meet not only grandmother but other departed members of the family.
In doing so, they are able to attend weddings, concerts, search for night creatures and travel the earth to collect these sightings to be turned into memories that will emerge as déjà vu later on in the boy’s life.
Excerpt
Hi
I met you yesterday and found out that you’re a tiny little thing. You’re fifty centimeters long and weighed almost eight pounds, which is quite above the national average in your country. Your hair stands up like reeds and I remembered that the same was said about me. That only guarantees that it will be very straight throughout your life. And I hope you keep it for all your lifetime. Your grandfather is almost seventy and he might never be bald.
In this patch of earth named Panama the first thing that is done by many when a baby is born is to check his balls. The darker they are the darker the body’s color as age starts setting in. According to this you will be slightly tanned. That will make you a good candidate for modeling if your eyelashes grow as long as the men in our family and if you don’t end up as short as my maternal grandfather.
But, the important thing is that you have arrived. And grandma isn’t here, but I shall tell you about her because I want her to be someone important in your life, as she was in mine.
So far, you’ve been with us for twenty hours already and you’ve had a great time: eating, sleeping and other essential things. And it’s what you are supposed to do for the coming months. Though, later on, centering too much of these activities might get you into trouble. But, in the meantime, enjoy.
Professional Reviews
wistfulskimmie on May. 01, 2011
This is a lovely story about family life seen through the eyes of a grandfather talking to his newborn grandson. Via astral travel we are taken to key points in the family's life. I liked the personal feel to it, almost autobiographical.
I was however a little confused by the author keep slipping between the first and third person (or maybe I just didn't 'get' it) but this didn't in anyway detract from the essence of the story.
Basically it is a series of short chapters made up of anecdotes each chronicling key points in this family's life. But it is also so much more than that. Through the grandfather's eyes we are able to see the importance of family and extended family. It was also interesting to take a peep at different countries customs as the family comes from Panama. All in all an excellent book and well worth a read.
By Vickie Johnstone
5.0 out of 5 stars Silver threads of delight August 12, 2011
By Vickie Johnstone
Format:Kindle Edition
I liked the originality of this book. The framework is of a man taking his grandson on a trip back through history and memories by astral travel. The book has a spiritual edge to it, filled with crystal balls and mythical wanderings. There are many humorous stories about the child's grandmother, who is fun, talented, quite wild in a way, tenacious and independent. The narrative switches between the first and third person; sometimes in sentences that bump each other, but I found this interesting and novel. There are some fascinating insights into the politics of Panama and a scene set on Black Friday. The narrator `shows' his grandson his past, including his first political rally, for example. Something that stuck in my mind was when the narrator thought it a pity that children lose their glow as adults; that this glow is a gift. The silver thread linking the astral travellers made me think of the delicate, but strong thread connecting family members. It shimmers brightly with the memories of the grandfather narrator. He writes that one of his favourite animals is the elephant for, as they say, elephants never forget.
By Katheryn Leonard
5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Across Generations January 16, 2011
By kathryn leonard
Format:Kindle Edition
This little book is packed with imagery and imagination as a grandfather travels astrally with his baby grandson to revisit scenes from the past. It is a wonderful testimony of intergenerational love that transports the reader across time and space to meet other relatives, teachers, friends, and loves all of whom have left their mark on the grandfather. As the reader accompanies the two on their astral journeys, history and characters comes to life and by the end of the book, and the grandfather himself has become a beloved figure, an archtype of the Grandfather that we all wish to have had. This book will touch your heart, and inspire anyone who has children or grandchildren to pick up a pen and begin to record some personal memories so that memories will not be diluted or lost, but transformed into a beautiful memoir for babies yet to be born.
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