Title: Bread and Joy: The Paths of Plenitude
Author: Marcos H.N. Rossi
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1-63871-791-1
Pages: 330
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: David Allen
Hollywood Book Reviews
Trouble is no stranger to young Brit Frank’s life. This cinematic novel opens with Frank tippling himself into unconsciousness in the local pub, then opening his eyes to find himself in a hospital, in the care of Elizabeth, a nurse whose selfless devotion brings him back from the brink.
This is one of four life and death situations where the hand of fate, a guardian angel, or a caring God, has interceded mercifully on his behalf. The story is sandwiched between slices of war narrative: World War II has just broken out, and England is marshalling its forces at great cost to defend itself and ultimately turn the tide. German air raids on London and its surround figure heavily in this tale as well; Frank’s parents are early victims of the incessant blitzkrieg.
Frank’s run-ins with life- and soul-jarring circumstances are fast and furious. At age 18 he enlists, only to encounter one obstacle after another in his quest to fight the good fight. His run-ins with a sadistic sergeant end up saving his life – as does his memorial and iconic encounters with his grandfather Benedict, who serves as guiding light and archetypal ‘wise old man’ for Frank. Some of Frank’s encounters with Benedict may be hallucinatory but all are life-changing: his shaman-like grandfather bequeaths him a vintage box of books, and words to live by, that stand the young man through thick and thin as he alternately self-destructs and morphs into something better and wiser as the novel progresses.
The book effectively captures the temper of the time, the feel of imminent danger, of sacrifice and loss. It also serves up delicious helpings of wisdom gleaned from world traditions ranging from Buddhism to Confucianism to Christianity. Frank masters his alcoholism, the loss of his parents and finally, during an edge of your seat climax, manages to get the woman of his dreams: Elizabeth.
Marcos H.N. Rossi is a novelist who is an astute student of history and human nature. It is tempting to speculate that some or much of the book is derived from the author’s personal experience. How else could he capture so effectively the heartbeat of sorrow; expectation; love; and loss? The spiritual thrust of the book – that life has a purpose, namely, living a purposeful life – is, through the writing, never lost on us. Strains of Jungian psychology and The Hero With A Thousand Faces run through it.
Bread and Joy: The Paths of Plenitude, with the impact of cinema, brings us to the time and place, brings them alive, and makes the reader feel.