A novel by R.M. Dolin
The Book of Isaac – SYNOPSIS
“Sometimes you have to break the boy to build a man.”
Unlike Uncle Darwin, who’s hyper-responsible and compelled to atone for every mistake he’s ever made, ISAAC isn’t responsible to anyone for anything. His life has not been hard, but it has been tragic. He’s ten when his dad dies in a plane crash and is nearly done with his third year at Northwestern as a successful software engineering student when his mom succumbs to a slowly progressing cancer. Growing up privileged does not prepare Isaac for the rigors, discipline, or responsibilities of adulthood and he soon descends into a frivolous ne’er-do-well trust-fund life.
To stave off boredom, Isaac works part-time for free at Murphy’s Northshore Bar and hangs out at night with GABRIELLA and other ne’er-do-well friends. Life is good until irresponsible financial mismanagement exhausts Isaac’s annual trust-fund allocation. ANTHONY, his trust fund manager, coldly offers no relief and tells Isaac he must take responsibility for his life and figure things out on his own.
Isaac convinces MURPHY to hire him full-time at his bar. On his first night, through a series of escalating wagers, Isaac bets Murphy that Gabriella’s love is real, and she will stand by him even though he’s broke and working. As their wager expands to the bar’s faithful, Lenny, who went to high school with Darwin, is the only one to bet with Isaac that Gabriella won’t dump him. Lenny later reveals the real reason Darwin disappeared from Isaac’s life, which causes Isaac to angrily react because the news conflicts with his mom’s bitter version. Upset by Lenny’s news and sad Gabriella breaks up with him, Isaac’s post-crisis life is not off to a good start.
Working full-time not only comes with challenges Isaac’s never encountered, but it also profoundly changes how he looks at life and how he feels about his purpose and self-esteem. It’s just by chance he meets SARA one afternoon on an L-platform on his way to work. She’s a new chef-in-training at the Four Seasons Chicago and they start spending time together even though their out of sync schedules make it hard. When Isaac learns Murphy’s faithful have once again wagered on his love life, he and Sara plot to teach them a lesson. The wager is whether Isaac’s new girlfriend likes him enough to come to Murphy’s and if she does, if she’ll kiss him. Again, only Lenny bets with Isaac.
While Isaac comes to embrace his co-workers as extended family, he can’t escape feeling alone in the world, which accelerates the intensity of his feelings for Sara. He becomes close with PATRICK, a pirate chef who uses Murphy’s kitchen, and SANTI, Patrick’s sous chef. After blowing up at Lenny for suggesting Uncle Darwin’s estrangement was his mom’s fault, Isaac replays old memories through the filter of this new information and realizes Lenny could be right. He’s not ready to forgive his uncle for abandoning him but is warming up to the notion of having family back in his life.
Isaac’s life hits rock bottom when Darwin dies and Sara gets transferred to Paris. As he teeters on the edge, his life can go one-of-two ways; he can put in the work to rebuild himself once more or descend back to his old ne’er-do-well ways. Overcome with feelings of abandonment, betrayal, and loneliness, the scales are tipping toward old familiar ways. To console Isaac, Murphy tells yarns about the pain of losing family, Patrick and Santi make gourmet foods that somehow become metaphors for love and future possibilities with Sara, and Lenny insists Isaac go to New Mexico to settle Darwin’s affairs.
This takes you through the first 40% of the novel, which is all I’ve written so far. I have a general idea how the rest of the story goes, but to be honest, it’s not my story to tell anymore; I’m just transcribing Isaac’s journey so how things end is on him. Below is my best guess for how the story will unfold – the conclusion, however, is still in flux.
Isaac arrives in Santa Fe and is greeted by ANNA, Darwin’s grieving girlfriend, and VICTOR, Darwin’s dear friend. They drive Isaac past Taos to the Marquez Mountain Wilderness where Isaac learns about Darwin’s self-sustaining life through a series of journals. Isaac also learns about his uncle’s collaboration with former Silicon Valley entrepreneurs engaged in clandestine efforts to save humanity from technology’s existential threats; particularly threats from the growing influence of Information Oligarch’s, the coming AI revolution, and society’s willingness to trade freedom for convenience and constant stimulation.
TIEN, Darwin’s former protégé, brings Isaac up to speed on their, save society from itself, campaign. She invites Isaac to join her and the rest of the concerned Silicon Valley technologists working on solutions. Once he becomes a trusted member of the team, Isaac meets CAMILLE, a French idealist who’s also a member of the Parisian ‘l’Alliance Pour la Préservation de l’Humanité’. Camille’s uncompromising determination along with her unyielding idealism awakens Isaac to the realization his ne’er-do-well life is unsustainable.
AN UNSUSTAINABLE LIFE is one story told from two perspectives. THE BOOK OF DARWIN told the story of Darwin’s redemption journey as he atones for his role in humanity’s demise. THE BOOK OF ISAAC tells the story Isaac’s journey of awakening as he picks up his uncle’s mantel and discovers the burdens and obligations associated with leading a purpose-driven life. THE BOOK OF ISAAC is simultaneously a standalone novel and a retelling/continuation of Darwin’s story from Isaac’s point of view.
Dr. Dolin previously worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory where his research was in the areas of Truth and Trust; primarily as it relates to information and digitally controlled processes, which makes him qualified to tell Isaac’s story. In addition to publishing over 100 technical papers, he has written five novels, two nonfiction books, one cookbook, and a plethora of poems. His novel writing method is to use poetry for character development and as a springboard for storytelling, as such, it is possible to enjoy his stories in both novel and poetry forms.
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