My Adventures in Cyberspace: Book I [Paperback]

 

 

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`My Adventures in Cyberspace' not only offers the reader an alluring title but slowly, leads them down an emotional rollercoaster. This unusual romance is initiated in cyberspace, however it is only when the writer begins to unveil some incredibly descriptive and painful passages, that the reader can become totally absorbed in this heart rending story. Whether or not this book is autobiographical, I am unsure but my guess is that it would be hard to conjure up such a story without some personal experience.
Dominique's story starts around the time of her parents' divorce. One cannot help but despise Dominique's father who manages to betray every member of her family, culminating in the total destruction of her mother. If this is not painful enough, Dominique is almost taken over the edge, as she then loses her two eldest children and her dogs in the course of her own divorce. The emotional turmoil consumes the reader in almost cinematic detail.

As this is a modern love story, only Cyberspace can introduce her to the man she believes will lead her to happiness. Incredibly, after a thoroughly compelling journey that takes her to the brink of alcoholism and a nervous breakdown, she pulls through and finds the life she has only ever dreamed of, with the lovely Ben. A truly, gritty book from this exciting new author, setting the bench mark for future novels.

About the only time I read fiction anymore is when I'm on holiday. So it was the case that when I'd finished the couple of novels I'd brought along with me for our vacation in Sicily, I began perusing our hotel's collection of paperbacks left behind by other travellers for some new reading material. It was there upon the lobby bookshelf that I found this amazing book, shining with its colourful cover out at me like a jewel amongst the seaweed. After reading the back cover I was intrigued enough to borrow it. After reading this book I left another in its stead at the hotel and brought it home with me in August of 2009. To give it the proper review it deserves, I've just recently read it again.

I've read a ton of worthy tomes in my life, but this was the first one that actually moved me to find the author of "My Adventures in Cyber Space" in cyber space and send her my compliments. It is unusual to find a writer who describes with such an intensity of no holds barred honesty and openness what she has seen in her own life and the lives of those around her, told through the magical lens of fiction but delivered in razor sharp focus. We as human beings are many-faceted creatures, both magnificent and flawed, with a psyche that can at times seem as fragile as a butterfly's wing or strong as a spider's silk. While we all travel different paths through life, what we have in common with others of our species is our experience of joys and sorrows, tragedies and victories, loves and losses. A great writer can describe in a nutshell the full range of human emotions and perceptions in such a way that it finds recognition and inspires something in others, perhaps even conveying a bit of wisdom from life's lessons learned along the way. The book's main character, Dominique DuBois, takes on the gauntlet of human nature with a "pen is mightier than the sword" attitude, a lion's heart and a keen eye.

Here is the story of one woman's life up to a certain point and her struggles to free her spirit from the confines of her circumstances. It is a tale filled to the brim with insights and reflections on the full range of her most intimate, meaningful and personal experiences, the sort of things you might or might not ever tell even your closest friends. This is not a book for the faint-hearted or prudish. The vocabulary ranges from exquisite, poetic prose to serious slang, at times within the same sentence. The big sex scene towards the end is also described in the raw with much love, passion and graphic detail. As I kept reading, I kept thinking about how much courage it requires to write such a book, albeit fiction, for all the world to see. I found the ending to be both graceful and satisfying, a bit like a cosmic cherry on top of a many layered cake, which left me quite looking forward to the next time Jude cooks up a novel for us.

I leave you now with a morsel of a taste of this one, with one of my favourite passages from pages 469-470...

"As we walk over the dunes from the beach-side car park I can see a fantastical sea monster floating in the sky. It must be a hundred feet long. It is a kite, an immense kite. I stand and stare in childlike awe. It is the sails of an invading ship, but floating in the sky. This thing is a work of art, the realization of insight and dreams. It is one of the most stunning creations I have ever seen; it billows, swimming against the tide of the wind with great gaping scarlet jaws and flowing white teeth. It trails orange, red and yellow, fluttering silk tendrils in the wake of its undulating green body. It must have been designed by someone who is in the possession of beautiful madness, for them to create such a beautifully mad, hundred foot sea monster that swims on the wind, harvesting the attention of dumbstruck passers by who stare, like plankton.

As we reach the top of the sand dunes we can see more dunes below us and further, the beach. The kite maker is standing on the sand, looking up at his creation, his hand at right angles to his forehead, shielding his face from the sun, as though he is saluting the wind. He has a long face with a long sharp nose, and dark curly hair which falls in ringlets to his shoulders. The kite is not tethered to the earth by traditional kite line, but by thick ropes, like climbing ropes.

As we descend, the kite maker turns round and looks at me, looks into my eyes. He has big brown eyes and I can see the benign madness in them and I love it; I love the fact that his madness has seeped out from his soul and into his kite and for these brief moments, unfurls itself and sails freely in the sky, billowing and giggling, a brilliant display of tumbling colour, usually quietly folded into his skull, but now unleashed and gloriously dancing in the sky. His madness can finally feel the wind on its face and taste the sea salt on its tongue, as it fills the sky above its father."

There are three things I demand to call a book good; it must teach me something, make me feel something - and make me ask questions. This is a good book. I'm not a book reporter - I'm a reader, and this is my personal opinion coloured by the fact that I'm a middle-aged woman - but still trying to be as objective as I can after reading this book. The problem is that it's difficult to stay objective this time!

What I first thought was a love story with an original twist I could cuddle up in the sofa with, isn't just that - it's so much, much more that it's difficult to describe. Here are layers and layers, many stories interwoven. Past and present. Not an easy task, but the author solves it brilliantly.

There are so many books - autobiographical and fictitious - where we're told a story about a person's trial, the fight to get through it all, and in the end we're supposed to be impressed with it when it's over, the main character grinning; "Look what I did!". I'm glad the author didn't fall into this trap.

The book goes from the simple where the main character - Dominique - enters a discussion-forum on net. Straightforward. But it doesn't take long before we're brought on a journey in her life, and we follow her through childhood, youth, adult life with lovers, husbands, children - and unhappy love. Behind all this there's a thinker fighting for her life, for love and for peace of mind. She finds this in the end. The author writes about love and betrayal, about friends and "friends", impossible family relations on many levels. Above this is the love story, beautifully described. We follow Dominique and Ben through their first "meeting" on net, all the pain, happiness and obstacles they go through. It's a relief when happiness is finally there in the end, and Dominique and Ben can start their life together.

The author is a great storyteller, she has a "flowery" language - almost cinematic - that enables us to get to know the surroundings and characters really well; what they look like, sound like, feels like, think like, smell like... There are also moments where the degree of recognition makes me gasp, moments when she moves me to tears - she brings us through the whole register of feelings - from pain to happiness. For me, that's the signature of a gifted writer. The highlights for me was the story of having to have an abortion, and when her oldes daughter moved out - so heartbreakingly described that it was painful to read. But don't get the impression that everything is tragic, it's not! Here are moments of irony and a great sense of humour I hope we will see more of in the future.

Am I making a mistake by mentioning the unpopular term feminism here? I don't think so, all middle-aged women "know" we could have come so much further not only if men understood more, but also if only women would stop hurting each other because of envy and frustration in their own lives - this book tells us stories about this many of us can learn from; if we could only treat each other with a little bit more happiness, a little bit more freedom and respect - understanding that another woman's progress isn't preventing our own. The author's description of how devastating imprudent, insensitive words can be, goes straight to my spine - and stays there long after I finished reading the book. She is never moralizing, she's a voice worth listening to. And don't think this is a book only for women - I know a few men that would really learn something from this book!

I'm left with the same feeling I had when I read Marilyn French's "The women's room" many years ago; a strong story of a strong woman that makes me question my own life. It doesn't get any better than that, does it?

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Heroine for the Internet Age
"My Adventures in Cyberspace" is a very absorbing and poignant saga following about a year in the life of a Sheffield housewife called Dominique Du Bois; it is... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Mr. Benjamin Emlyn-jones

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