THE ACOLYTES
RAINER J. HANSHE
NOVEL
DECEMBER 2010
ISBN 978-8792633064
PAPERBACK | 6×9 | B&W | 436 pp
OUT OF PRINT
Note: this book is out of print from the publisher, but it may be that places like Amazon may still have some stock.
DESCRIPTION
“The connection between the aesthetic and the religious realm in the term “acolyte” is important for Rainer J. Hanshe’s novel as it subtly links his story of masters and disciples in the thespian and literary arts to the contemporary crisis in the Church. In the acolyte’s realm the cults of art and religion converge. Hanshe’s novel also illuminates, in beautiful and also horrifying ways, the many-nuanced nature of “love.” In a deeply poetic subplot it shows the oneness of two beings in and with each other as an evocation of cosmic unity. The novel is a riveting, slightly surreal portrait of the bohemian underworld of New York and it exposes the sinister underside of the ever-beckoning dream of art. It shows with fascinating nuance the multi-faceted nature of artistic ambition, illuminating a range from lofty yearning to diabolical craving for power.” (Walter H. Sokel)