"Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings" (Based on a true story)

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

This a topic about Lisa's debut novel "Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings" (Based on a true story).
What do you think about it?

“Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings”
By, Lisa Furtado
Book Review by, Lynn Baer

Based on a true story.
Lisa Furtado’s Fatima is a young American girl of the 1980’s. She comes of age in the disenfranchised era after the Flower Power movement, as the daughter of a proud American military leader. Her father’s frequent absences and strict, intolerant manner drive Fatima (and her mother) into different quests that take them from the mainstream of the American idealized family. Wanting to escape from both her parents’ obsessions (and her own inner urgings), Fatima strikes out on her own in the wild world, hoping to connect with an older, married man who has preceded her to Asia. In her backpacking travels, Fatima is exposed to adventures that challenge her perceptions and require her to look from a new light at her pre-conceived notions of relationship, independence, self reliance, submission, rebellion and self worth.
She is accompanied by a ghost of the atrocities that have been wreaked on Banda’s home country and finds the contrast of devastation and rebirth, beauty and ravishment, despair and hope, intermingled in the lush greenery of Vietnam and Cambodia. Having fallen into traps of seemingly free choice (sex, power, adoration, slavery, violence, drugs, political intrigue, and collapse), a devastated woman awakens in a hospital in Saigon, Vietnam. Here she reads Fatima’s diary, and her drug-riddled, recuperating mind begins to piece together the truth of who she is, and of the values of life. The devastated woman’s drop into the seething abyss of life is the propellant that awakens her to the beauty of forgiveness, genuine love, values, and hope for fresh beginnings.
Lisa Furtado is a talented writer. She’s created an exceedingly interesting and powerful work that presses the idea of identity from cross cultural encounters in a way that it is both unique and affecting.

She has taught English for seven years. She lives in Taiwan, Republic of China with her husband and rescued Doberman. Her debut novel,

“Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings”
is NOW available on Trafford’s books on: http://books.trafford.com/08-1395
It can also be ordered through most bookstores. Available on Amazon Books, Barnes & Noble, Borders and other retailers.

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An excerpt from the novel:
Her Apparitions and Other Human Longings
By, Lisa Furtado

"Fatima moved into her own flat in the big city. Everything in the flat --the colors, the concrete, the furniture, the smells -- was new to her. She could smell the seventies when she would sniff her curtains upon entering the living room. Everything in the bathroom was new to her: all the worn-out fixtures and the old furnace for heat. Other people had designed that flat, had those fixtures installed, had chosen those white wall tiles -- some of them cracked now, the crack-lines and cocking all black with mould or dirt, the walls themselves a little uneven. Other people had become familiar with all those things, had considered them part of the comfort of the house. This place is empty, she thought. Four white walls free of familiarity or family. Yet, she sensed angst and grim memories resurfacing here, long buried thoughts which she had worked hard to forget. In that flat especially, she felt alone."

Synopsis of:
Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings

Her Apparitions and Other Human Longings focus on the psychological responses of Fatima, a young high school graduate from the American Midwest and the daughter of a distant American military commander who senses failure in her search for meaning. Fatima discovers at an early age the hollowness at the core of her parents' self-denial and aspires to something more genuine. She is elated by the news of being accepted to an Ivy League University, only to find out that her family is gravely in debt and that she will not be able to follow her dream. Against her parents' wishes she escapes her small town and moves out to the city where she attempts to pay for her education independently.

Soon she finds herself working as a part time sales woman, relying on food banks and becomes involved in an unhealthy relationship. Due to her brother Azel's tragic death, she returns home to the American Midwest for his funeral. Soon afterward, she meets his art teacher Laurence, who is twenty years older, and she is convinced that she has found her soul mate. Desperate to see him again, she later leaves America to look for him while he is working across Asia.

Spanning three continents and an entire history of caste, class exile and dislocation, Her Apparitions and Other Human Longings is an exploration of the deceitful bargains that make up an identity. Her search begins amidst the emptiness of an unnamed American city, moves to a rewarding career as an orphanage caretaker in Cambodia and, finally, to a decaying British colony in India where she finds joy she will then be forced to betray.

Atheists, bigots, angels, and a cast of believers and Jungian archetypes dramatize throughout this coming of age allegory. Fatima is disillusioned by the American dream that was originally about freedom and the pursuit of happiness. But how does Fatima create meaning in a world of moral decay? Fatima tells her story while being committed into a mental hospital in Saigon, Vietnam.

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

Ahhhhh

Not long anymore and i got the book,too=) <3

Almost finishing it!
Only "Bombay, Bollywood" and "Flight" missing Very Happy

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

I'm afraid to finish it....don't want the story to end...

Just finished it!! Its awesome!

Now I want to see two books: "As suas Aparições e outros Anseios Humanos" and Lisa Book #2!

hehehehe
I'm on Chapter 4! Awe!!
cya =)

I'd finish the book today, and I have to say .. WOW!
This is much better than I actually expected! Seriously, it's my new favorite book.
Lisa is an amazing writer, and when you've just started to read the book, you don't want it to end again!
Amazing!
Anyone why haven't bought it yet .. Go buy it NOW! You won't be dissapointed! cheers

Thank-you so much!
That means the world to me
that you enjoyed my book.
And that Laurence!!
i kinda got a crush on him....
you
readers made me remember
him again~

Lotsa LOVE,
lisa
XOXO
geek

I am in chapter 4!!!I read when i have time!
I really enjoy reading it!
And GOSH i LOVE this monologue..you know what's going on Fatima's head!!! Wink

I have to say that i've never "met"in books such a "racy" and extreme girl!
That's why i like her!!Because it's something original that exists in the real world!!!!
I really wonder Lisa how you decided to make this character....

Change the name from Daniel to Laurence in this song. It captures the longing between Fatima & Laurence. While i listen, i revisit the head space i was in while writing my book, " Her Apparitions & Other Human Longings". Enjoy!!xo

I finished the book and I really enjoyed reading it,
I never read a book so fast, I just couldn't put it away, it was so exiting to read...
I was too curious, what will happen next to Fatima, and Laurence is so sweet!
Thanks Lisa for this book!
and btw really good song, it fits perfect i think!

I got the book yesterday! I have just finished chapter 3 and I am really impressed! It's the best book I've ever read...!
My favourite!
I especially liked chapter 2...When Fatima talks about her relationships...
I'm sure the book will be A GREAT success!

Annie

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

What do you guys think about Fatima?

i think fatima is a girl who really NEEDS to be free...

I agree!!

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

me 2!
what about the others? Wink

answer pls!

Well i think with you girls..but i also think that her behavior is coming from the psucholgical probles that her family has done to her.....
she needs to be free and she needs to be a better person!! At first you think that Fatima is kinda sluty and a bad girl but deep down is so sensitive and good person!That's all so far..!
When i am finished with the book i will write my full opinion about her! Wink

I loved the book...read it one day, once i started i couldn't stop. (plus it gave me something to do while waiting in the airport and while travelling on the plan)

Thank-you for asking.
Did you see the live chat
log from last night? we have it here &
on the website.
We talk about Fatima being a
"bad" girl.

lisa
xo

Admin Posts : 81 Join date : 2009-08-05

What's your favourite character in the book?

of course fatima! i am still wondering how she stood all these situations! she has a very strong character!

Admin wrote:: What do you guys think about Fatima?

I really feel sorry for her. She never had a mother or a father preparing her for life or giving her confidence. She never had a person who could give her advices. Maybe it was Azel, but you need an "adult" giving you advices while your childhood or a teenager. I guess even Fatima was mental sick since she was born, she had never been so bad if she had people giving her love and help through her childhood... Sad