A Short Review And A Reading

Writing in The Paper for November, 2005, Ruth Bass includes The Dream Antilles in The Paper's "annual attempt to round up the regional authors who have produced a new book in the past 12 months." About The Dream Antilles, she writes:

David Seth Michaels, who lives and works in Spencertown, NY, is working on several levels here. He entertains, he teaches lessons, he provokes thought, as he takes the reader to a fantastical Caribbean island that is trying to stay out of sight.

The island's people live in tree houses because periodic high tides totally submerge the island and would wash away any other kind of housing. Their unit of money is called a Sonrise, and it's printed in rainbow colors, decorated with a dolphin, a dugout canoe and a local fruit.

The book offers a new view of reality from folks who are hanging on to their isolation, people who think "simple things, like catching a bass, were intended to be more delightful than castles and gold."

It's not every day that Manuel Acero's father gets quoted in the Berkshires and in English. A special thanks to The Paper and to Ruth Bass for this kind mention.

And speaking of the Berkshires, on Saturday, November 12, 2005, at 2 pm I'll be at the Bookstore on Housatonic Street, in Lenox reading from The Dream Antilles. Proprietor Matthew Tannebaum has a wonderful bookstore worth a detour, some upscale Cabernet, and a fascinating group of patrons. Join us!!