And now for something completely different.
Listening to Bethlehem is a short novel written by Cymru Roberts from Portugal and lavishly illustrated by Hugh Frost. This is a book with a large trim size (8 inches x 11 inches) and makes for quick reading as we follow three hipsters on their odyssey starting out at a Las Vegas golf course and moving through the lands of Ob-Bla-Dee.
One way to appreciate the book is to take a gander at a statement put forth by a mother of two from Oklahoma: "Heartbreaking and stunning. I honestly can’t believe it. I took this to my book club and have since been banned for life."
Actually, methinks there's no better way to share some of Cymru Roberts' literary stash than linking my comments with a half dozen direct hits from his book. Also sprinkled in are a few Listening to Bethlehem illustrations.
“Yes, Day was in the process of conceding the celestial battle to Night, but there was still enough of Helios’ pamplemousse tincture in the blueberry soda to keep the patrons below clothed in robes of pink shadow.” ---------- No doubt about it, this tale has a trippy magic mushroom feel to it from first page to last. As I was reading, I was wondering if Cymru Roberts or his publisher might have coated the corners of the pages will hallucinogens for readers to lick.
“In the split second it took to return the handshake Robertstein thought of how he should respond. In times faded and long gone, times of old and times of renown, he had been known as the Man of the Many Names. Teen Wolf for the time he did a somersault dunk at Sunset Park. Crazy Legs for his wild soccer style, infamous for its frequent nearfooted slide tackling and for delivering dead legs at quite a clip. Little Whowdey, presumably because he had always been sol tall and lanky. To name four.” --------- There’s an instant click between Robertstein and Diego, locking them into a dynamic duo foraging the highs of staying high or at least mellow for as long as possible. This pop on names also give us a quick backstory on a main man.
“Travis takes his Samsung Galaxy 66S out of the pocket of his expensive Carhart mesh cargo paints. Opens the camera function and flips the view to use it as a mirror; looking at the grotesque chiaroscuro of his face. Flakes of an African-American’s have gathered around his ears and the line of his jaw.” ----- The guys are joined by a third member – a cool cat as cool as cool.
"Recently Soviet scientists conducted a study in which it was revealed that people would rather submit themselves to electroshock therapy than sit alone for fifteen minutes with their thoughts." --------- I believe it! In our Brave New 21st Century world, for many people, having to deal with their own thoughts without the shield of the electronic buzz of TVs or cellphones can be sheer torture. Give me that electroshock! I can't take what's in my head!
"It's nights like these when everything is so crystallized and HD that I'm absolutely filled with the Spirit. The images I can see through my windshield, or out of the open windows of my moving vehicle, are so bracing that they almost seem unreal. Like the world I'm looking at is a virtual reality rendered in more megapixels than Real Life. A video game where you can do anything: you're the first-person shooter." --------- Vintage 21st century: the interplay between what is on the screen and beyond the screen, captured here in that more traditional screen: the windshield of a car.
"Under a canopy of rose trees, sitting on a marble throne in a posture of meditation was the martial poet Du Fu. The sculpture had once been black but a patina had formed over time, covering the stern features of the poet's face and garb in a tarnish that shone reptilian green in the moonlight." -------- One of the many vivid visual descriptions a reader will come upon following the travels of this crew. Up for a unique journey that continues through many twists and bobs, ups and ups again? Hop aboard and take a zoom with Cymru Roberts' Listening to Bethlehem.
From the far out reaches of Lisboa, Portugal - author Cymru Roberts
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