40 Monroe Street

by Farbstein, Steven

• ISBN13: 9781449954642
• ISBN10: 1449954642
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-22
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
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Summary

"The description of the temporal sequence of events is only possible if we support ourselves on another process."-Wittgenstein40 Monroe Street is a fictional journal that explores the meaning of memory. It is the closing statement of an anonymous old man whose only remaining vital possession at the existential end of his life is the reality of his memory. Although episodically reconstructed from fantasy, it lives on paper in the present tense as a fulfilled wish while he waits for the epiphany to arise that lies hidden in this woven fabric.After all, what is a remembered life history other than a random collection of 'flash bulb' memories? In the end, who will care about his story? "Nobody," appears to be the underlying assumption, so why make this literary plea? The search for meaning through the literary confessional asks the auditor's forgiveness for the guilt of wasting time, talent, and the half-truths told to the self. The path to this redemption requires that what is inside be told to someone outside for the mystery to be revealed. Wasted time can never be reclaimed, unless it is taken from someone else. The fantasy underlying 40 Monroe Street is that, once the reader identifies with A, their time becomes his time. Each new reader bestows more life, hope, forgiveness, and immortality. The story of A unfolds as a family saga, written in the genres of Henry Miller and Roth-an event horizon between 1943 and 1964- that is played out on the Lower East Side of New York City, whose principle actors are the omnipresent N, assorted parental figures and relatives, neighbors, and the intrusive dreams which personify the omnipresent age old fear of death, and who spin N's wheel of karma.