Click Here to Purchase: Below the Line in Beijing by Richard Seldin on IPBooks.net
Below the Line in Beijing is a provocative exploration of love, psychoanalysis, dissociative mental states and male sexuality. Without apparent cause, the novel’s protagonist, a 61 year-old attorney and former track star, awakens next to his wife in his Baltimore home unable to speak. He questions whether his sudden muteness is due to loss of sexual desire for his wife, but this isn’t new. For several years, he’s been undergoing a second psychoanalysis to understand his physical indifference to her as well as powerful fantasies about hooking-up with young women. These fantasies have intensified following the appearance of Jim, his alter ego.
While attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics and exploring the city’s rapid transformations, Jim leads the protagonist on a quest for young women. As in the past, the narrator is both awed and repelled by Jim’s guiltless lechery. On their last day in Beijing, Jim persuades the protagonist to visit a high-end brothel where he is overcome with desire for a beautiful young prostitute. The narrator must then choose between carnal pleasure and love for his wife.
Thus far, the novel has received the following public praise:
“This compelling novel will hold you in its grip from beginning to end. Part mystery, part psychological thriller, Below the Line in Beijing is a terrific read and an auspicious debut by a gifted writer.”
—Dr. Theodore Jacobs, psychoanalyst, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and author.
“This is a fascinating novel with a vivid plot. The novel explores the depths of man’s unconscious motivations, and, at times, reads like a detective story. As a Chinese native, I am very impressed by the author’s knowledge of Chinese history, language, literature, art, tea and even details about Beijing’s geography.”
—Dr. Jun Tong, Professor of Psychiatry, Wuhan Mental Health Center, Wuhan, China.
“Readers of Saul Bellow’s literary classics of middle age and diminished powers will quickly appreciate the setting and concerns of this novel. The action in Below the Line in Beijing is largely internal and observational, but excels in its tone and approach. Steeped in the cultural atmosphere of China, the special circumstances of the Olympics, and the unique struggles of an aging man, Below the Line in Beijing is a solid recommendation for any who want a novel packed with introspection and cultural analysis.”
—D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review.
IP Books is headed by Dr. Arnold Richards. Dr. Richards served as editor of the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association (JAPA) for many years. The book is listed with Ingram, the major booksellers, including Amazon, and with the publisher at IPBooks.net.
Mr. Seldin has published short stories in English and Chinese, translations of Chinese novellas and short stories, and nonfiction articles on United States-China trade relations. In 2013, he co-authored with my sister the collection of poems, Pearls Beneath The Rind, which Kirkus Reviews described as “A smart unusual collection of poetry with honed, pleasant surprises.” For many years he was an attorney with the U.S. Government Accountability Office where he specialized in international relations and trade, including U.S. trade relations with China. He also has had extensive personal experience with psychoanalysis and has studied psychoanalytic theory at the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis for many years. He has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for many years.