"Mel Mathews' place in the ranks of fine contemporary writers is assured." In The Chronicles of a Wandering Soul series, the wandering, questing central figure of Malcolm Clay has become a new literary icon. With thoughtful ruminations, keen humor, informative explorations of themes from religion to traits of visited countries, and so many clever double entendres, Mel Mathews' place in the ranks of fine contemporary writers is assured. —Grady Harp, goodreads, Amazon.com Top10 Reviewer”
An introspective allegory about the search for prosperity of the soul . . .”—Midwest Book Review”
Vive LeRoi: A powerful kick at the American way of life."LeRoi is ostensibly a novel, and not overtly psychological, but it lays bare the psychic plight of a middle-aged man looking for meaning. It is a powerful kick at the American way of life-ambition, success, money and power-but it is redemptive in the narrator's search for internal Eros and an outer relationship he can trust himself to believe in.—Daryl Sharp, author and publisher, Inner City Books
In Book One of The Chronicles of a Wandering Soul, Malcolm Clay, a rather ornery but 'successful-in-life' character, finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere, his fancy MG allowing him to limp into a gas station with a diner-cum-motel on the other side of the road. Subtly layered in symbol and metaphor, one soon realizes that the simplicity of this novel is only skin deep. The old mechanic, a study in laissez-faire and cool disdain, tries the patience of our hero. As a matter of fact, all members of the cast including the Queen who rules the diner, the pretty waitress and the lanky fast-order cook are highly complicated human beings. The enigmatic and moody old Chevy half-ton pick-up truck Malcolm borrows is unreliable in the conventional sense, but does grant him the freedom to escape the confines of the motel and the frustration of his broken down MG. 'Ol' Reliable' guides him over a cattle guard, a mysterious unseen gateway into sanctuary, the oasis of a river that cuts through this otherwise barren wasteland where he can cast a fly into adventure-and misadventure-yet beyond that, healing waters for the soul. Could this perhaps be a modern day model of a questing Perceval and the Grail Legend's Fisherking?
