A Bliss Case

By Michael Aaron Rockland

Book Overview

English professor turns New Age guru.

"Middle-aged Sidney Kantor, a tenured professor of English in New Jersey, abandons his family, friends and career to enter a flourishing religious cult in India. However, Kantor (aka Anudaba) remains offstage: his escapades are relayed by the testimonies of his long-suffering Jewish mother ('A mother doesn't raise a child to see him prostrated on the floor in front of King Tut'), his ex-wife ('He loved flowers and he loved people and he loved God. He just didn't love me'), his daughter (who joins him at his ashram) and an envious former colleague. Although interpretations of Kantor's behavior vary widely, each offers apparently valid insights and expands Rockland's premise that an individual's deepest desires and motives are mysteries to himself and to others. This first novel is distinguished by its unblinking scrutiny of both the suburban culture that Kantor rejects and the cult that claims him, as Rockland shuns easy stereotyping in favor of keenly witty and original satire." --Publishers Weekly

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0918273552
• ISBN13: 9780918273550
• Release Date: September 1989
• Publisher: Coffee House Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Witty prof satirizes academia and religious cults

This little gem of a novel, by Rutgers University American Studies professor Michael Rockland, chronicles the spiritual journey of fictional English professor Sidney Kantor, as witnessed by four people in his life: his mother, his best friend, his ex-wife, and his daughter. (Think "The Razor's Edge" meets "The Sound and the Fury," filtered through "Citizen Kane" with a solid dose of humour added). The reactions to Kantor's behavior, as he transforms from academic enfant terrible to aesthetic spiritual guru, range from "He's great!" to "He's a creep!" to "Oy! This is my son?"Rockland writes with a breezy wit; his insider's view of higher education informs the novel with authenticity. Humour abounds, but never at the expense of substance. At 176 pages, "A Bliss Case" flies by, but Rockland packs it with so much plot, character development, and wryly observed detail, that you'll feel you've absorbed something much longer.

East meets West

I am a stident of Political Science at Rutgers University and had Michael Rockland as a professor. A Bliss Case is written to the highest literary standards with consistent wit. With an underlying theme of East meets West, Rockland expresses the innocence of the East as it encounters very foreign situations in the West. This is a must read for anyone interested in good contemporary fiction. If not, read it for the consistent, realist humor.

A deft, funny exploration of a cult using varied narrators

The mark of this novel has barely faded in the 5 years since I've read it, reading it spawned an interest in cults and their leaders. A Bliss Case offers so much psychological insight into the experience of cult leaders, members, and their families, and it remains a gripping read throughout. It is primarily a meditation on the personality of a college professor, Sidney, who loins a cult. The narrator switches from his mother (a fun voice) to his friend to his daughter. The man's psyche is perplexing yet fascinating, and although the novel captures him from all angles, reders are still left with the ambivalence that surround our most complex heroes and villains. Sidney is left, like evil and love themselves, an enigma. This book is a great experience for those who love psychological probes, mysteries, family dramas, or the artistry of finely crafted fiction. Email me if you'd like to discuss it, I could talk about this book for pages.