The Adventures of Captain Harvey: A Modern Odyssey

By Alan R. Davison

"The Adventures of Captain Harvey" tell the tale of Captain Jackson Quintilius Harvey, a character born with a mental vacuum who takes on the personality of everyone and everything he encounters.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966144104
• ISBN13: 9780966144109
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Shield Pub
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A remarkable book

This is truly a remarkable book. It was recommended to me by a professor at my college who teaches comparative literature, and that's exactly what it is. The entire novel is a dialogue between the greatest literary masterpieces of Western Literature. The main character, Captain Harvey, travels around Europe retracing the "steps" of Homer, Don Quijote, Dante, Van Gogh, to name a few, living out the adventures of both fictional and non-fictional characters in what becomes a humorous and profound parody. Clearly, it helps if you have some knowledge of the classics, especially Greek mythology, Dante, and Shakespeare, but even if you don't you can follow the story on a more superficial level as simple series of travel adventures. This is not a cookie-cutter John Grisham-type novel that you can read in your sleep, it requires a reader who is awake and is willing to stop and think about the very serious question, "What is the essence of personal identity?" If you are willing to ask questions, this novel will supply endless rewards.

One in a Million!

5 Stars for Roland Twelves, "The Adventures of Captain Harvey"! This tome is a startling saga with refreshing views on life, love, and the perception of reality. In a brand new approach, Roland Twelves peals away the idealism of everyday existence to reveal the basic, naked self. In a state of vulnerability the book overpowers one's identity to impose one of it's own. The fundamental super ego vacuum of Captain Harvey drift's down upon the unsuspecting casualty only to transform the now bare slate into everyone and yet no one at the same time. In fact, I was so overcome by this narrative that I believed myself to be a rock for some time...

A complex play on a variety of realities!

The sands of time, the faces of the mirrors, the selves of the selves. I found myself on page 1, 2, 3, 4 .... and my self found my self too. You have convinced me that I am not alone in this world.

Sensual and Hilarious!!!!!!

This may be the most sensual (not pornographic) book I've ever read. Taste, touch, smell and sound (Mr. Twelves has a perfect ear)--Harvey and his exploits are an assault on the senses. And if you're wondering what the Greek gods are up to at the beginning of the 21st century, this is the book for you. Oh yeah, and it's also hilarious.Robert Jones

For imagination & allusion, Harvey rivals Joyce's Ulysses

Beautifully written, full of action, characters rich in vision, life experience. A myriad of personalities, affections, genius, and depth. Embraces the essential challenges and marvels of being human in a journey through Europe, time, and the greatest of occidental literature while being a tale of adventures, loves, strange encounters, and constancy. The most powerful, robust, humorous and imaginative novel of our times. Truly exciting, different, and constantly thought-provoking.