Click Here to Read: Below the Line in Beijing by Richard Seldin on IPBook.net
In an exciting new novel, soon to be released by IPBooks, Richard Seldin takes the reader on an inwardly intense, psychoanalytically-charged, and outwardly globe-spanning journey.
In this strikingly imaginative and unique exploration of love, psychoanalysis, and male sexuality, the protagonist must struggle with a deteriorating marriage, the loss of his ability to speak English, a philandering doppelganger, and disorienting fantasies about hooking-up with young women.
Without apparent cause, the novel’s protagonist, a 61-year-old attorney and former track star, awakens at home in Baltimore next to his wife, suddenly unable to speak. He questions whether this sudden muteness is due to loss of sexual desire for his wife, but this isn’t new. For several years, he has 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. . . .
Ted Jacobs, noted psychoanalytic author and himself a novelist as well, describes the book as a “compelling novel that 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.”
And Dr. Jun Tong, a professor of Psychiatry at the Wuhan Mental Health Center in Wuhan, China, has said of it: “This is a fascinating novel with a vivid plot. The novel explores the depths of man’s unconscious motivations. 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. In that sense, the novel’s most important contribution is the link it makes between West and East—between America and China.”
Richard Seldin has published short stories in English and Chinese and English translations of Chinese novellas and short stories. In 2013, he coauthored, with his sister, a 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, Mr. Seldin was an attorney with the U.S. Government Accountability Office where he specialized in International Relations and Trade.