BOOK REVIEW                                          FICTION

TWIN FLAMES

THE STORY BEGINS . . .

BOOK ONE

THE LOVERS OF THE ARCHANGELS

AUTHOR: J.L. BERKOWITZ

While our present life on earth reels under human excesses that lead to human predicament, escapist literature strikes high notes to regale us all and also to reckon with the higher realm where “There's a divinity that shapes our ends.” 

Empyrean edict prevails upon this entire creation in subtle ways. In her book, J.L.Berkowitz sets off ethereal romance wafting across a cornucopia of passions amidst her trust with ‘nature’s matriarch, born of a seed’. There is seraphic enchantment seizing Aree, the prima donna of the story. The book draws in disparate notions to link up an engrossing narrative that streaks out upon two or three dimensions of creators and mortals each forming crisscrossing loci on axes of mortals and axes of creators. The foundational element – a woman’s spiritual journey of escapism, is one that Berkowitz probably relates to the most. Her life saw a traumatic experience where she found her guardian angel and her dreams to escape her ugly truth may have inspired the element.

The narrative dabs the elixir of vivified imagery of Celestrian: the Holy City of Angels and Archangels. Ornate symbolism is made out of the interiors of the Grand Cathedral. The opulence of the Castle of Archangels is ineffable. Readers are likely to go gaga over the mumbo-jumbo depictions.  There are the ‘Majestic snow-topped ruby and garnet mountains’ with a stashed away mystic monastery with a discreet agenda for earthly welfare carrying out covert operations. Readers can behold the soaring of ‘The third moon.’ Allusions to baubles like crystals become the insignia of the saga of the earth realm. The Crystals become the mainstay of the story. Often the similar names of the Elders and Archangels have more to offer.

However, all these exalted moments get hyphenated owing to the safety of the Earth being at stake. Succour for Faermorreya is the call of the hour.

The Archangels and all their dominion notwithstanding its splendor have to kowtow rigorous commitments towards human welfare. ‘Hundreds of Elders maintained records for all the realms, including every human on earth.’ Humans are an esoteric species bestowed with sentient capabilities, and ‘fascinating minds of curiosity’ and hence deserve a special preservation of Faermorreya that embodies the entire realm of nature present on earth. Any Danger to this realm is tantamount to ‘destroy everything, even Heaven’. 

Some force majeure has to stave off this demonic onslaught! Whom to entrust such an errand? Someone who can commune with nature can only succeed in this mission. The choice made in the Castle of Archangels jolts the readers. The Hall of Records in the Grand Cathedral is hosting this emergency meeting having thrones around a ruby table. The massive gold-plated sycamore doors bear the carvings of angelic script. And there’s the fabled orb, aligned with the axis mundi synchronizing the terrestrial realm. Invisible dimension of the earth – Faermorreya, ‘the magical world of nature’. 

The coyish damsel, Aree has a lot to achieve, putting behind her prattle, and her memory is nipped out. The loving duo of Aree and Michael transcribe much more than mere canoodling and seeking carnal gratification.

The book has a larger message to deliver. Divinity plays out manifestations of various sorts. There's an elaborate chain with cogs in the wheels that create and recreate the scenes enacted in the book and the proscenium stretches beyond the multiverses. The intriguing aspect is the interplay of manifesting players remaining oblivious of their ultimate identity while confining themselves in a parochial realm and believing it to be the ultimate. Readers may relate this with Gilgul, which is a concept of reincarnation or "transmigration of souls" in Kabbalistic esoteric mysticism. However, the book makes no mention of these names.

How does the earth run? Is everything pre-ordained? The Earth abides by the Supreme diktat. That rings a bell with the 1949 American post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. It became a taking point and made a cinematic rendition too. In the Hebrew Bible, Ecclesiastes mentions "Men go and come, but earth abides." Twin Flames has a different plot altogether. The subtle ploys in the book bring out the intricacies of a mystic forbearance. The nature-infused ‘mystic characters’ becoming the ‘guardians of nature’ is a hallmark of the book so much so, that even characteristics of nature have been personified. “As she moved a huge oak leaf aside, Sassy was exposed to an enchantment wonderland…There were thousands of different species along with the fairies, creatures with... Most had the figure of humans. They all lived there together in peace.”

A heightened world-view occurs to “The White Queen initially…didn’t realise the nature world was real. I understood it was all a delusion that mothers instructed youngsters with as stories!”. The interplay between poison ivy and negative energy bears a remarkable description. Ready find situations much akin to diplomatic relations, ‘peace treaty between worlds. They grew jealous of the way fairies and humans had built trust in one another.'

 The Alaskan Kona Tribe resolves “to reseed the planet, creating nature on the outer earth. The two dimensions thrived in peace and happiness, realising the strength building as the two became one” makes an impact to be considered an ecological book too.

Several contemporary issues find a serenaded echo, such as, ‘causing a death of the earth from losing its oxygen field that came from our dimension’ of the invisible Faermorreya. And, thus it appears Twin Flames too would find its renditions on the silver screen.

Berkowitz makes a remarkable vivisection of Aree and her other selves. The Elders emphasize that Aree has a nature connection that not even the Elders may have. She may have reached the Socrates level of the ultimate truth. But here things are different! At one point, Aree is living the ultimate truth. However, collateral damage finds the most positive discoveries for her.

Magic realism is not just a figment of chimera fantasy but reveals the rigmaroles of existence that may indeed exist in various realms and their functioning gains relevance.  Berkowitz reveals “I found solace in escaping into the fantasy world I was creating. I related deeply to my characters, and writing became not just an act of creativity but one of self-discovery and emotional release.” And this book instils this verity of existentialism.

Intrepid challenges and self-discovery impel readers to endure and give up for the people we truly love.

 Paper length: 264