NORTH HILLS, Calif., April 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- "The task before us, in a nutshell, my fellow humans, is the clear and present danger of finding out who we really are. That is the impossible feat I have given this poor creature, V. Virom, and each of us with him. Whether I, and you with me, finally answer the question that haunts every human head remains to be seen. The proof of the pasta is always in the tasting." So says the author at the beginning of his book as he invites the reader on a detective story, offering an utterly profound and beautifully written book with a rather remarkable synthesis of modern thinking, one that builds from the ground of existence alone, to a spirituality both secular and sacred.
Rarely does such a work come along that is so all embracing. Through the hurricane of the human condition alone, Coppola thinks us through his sleuth's odyssey, going from science to philosophy to spirituality, summing up in a crescendo as if writing a symphony. We actually find ourselves grabbling with the fundamental problems of being the conscious creatures in the cosmos we are. With each of us as the main character, V. Virom carries on the immense task of searching for what it really means to be us, penetrating to the root-reality of our humanness, and finding the one minimal certainty with which we can dare disturb the universe -- and only because of that, have the chance and choice to possibly grasp the Incomprehensible beyond at the very core of us. In the end, Quest becomes a testament of unfettered pursuit and free inquiry into what has to be humankind's most important quest; the truth about ourselves. Everything follows from that.
About the Author
"The author is an invisible point from which the book comes," is all the author would like to say about himself with regards to the book. However, his vita shows that Mr. Coppola was trained in philosophy, theology, literature and film. He holds four degrees including an MA and PHD in philosophy, an MFA in film, and an AB in literature and the Greek and Latin classics. He teaches philosophy, comparative religion, and cinema, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI).
Quest -- By V. Virom Coppola
A Search for a Soul for Modernkind
Publication Date: March 17, 2004
Trade Paperback; $24.99; 463 pages; 1-4134-3049-X
Cloth Hardback; $34.99; 463 pages; 1-4134-3050-3
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