Parallels That Cross

Parallels That Cross is a delightfully creative novel that will take you down literary paths like those you have explored with Barbara Kingsolver's books. Gary Graham interweaves stories of his two equally important main characters and presents their stories with diverse sentence and paragraph structure in a literary manner that may remind readers of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See. Perfect for book clubs seeking an enjoyable alternative to dystopian or fantasy novels.

Parallels That Cross launches us into the worlds of ancient cultures, never before seen wildlife, parental and sex-based relationship anxieties, and the fundamentals of love - all wrapped around a man and woman presented as equals and given equal page time.

This novel pivots on Mica, an archaeologist, and Clay, an ornithologist, who are independently and simultaneously resolving their anxieties while searching in 1982 for extraordinary treasures hidden deep in the Peruvian wilderness. Mica is exploring for an ancient city she theorizes was founded by women led by a princess daughter of Peru's last reigning Inca ruler. Clay, working on his doctoral research on another side of the same mountain, is testing his new biodiversity model that predicts discovery of new avian species. Mica suffers from a lifelong self-doubt that she will turn out like her lesbian mother. Clay is tormented by his own nightmare that he has become his philandering dad.

Packed with mesmerizing stories, breath taking adventures into beautiful settings, complex intimacy, and user-friendly science, Parallels That Cross narrates the fascinating parallel lives of Mica and Clay as they face unimaginable personal and professional challenges. Terrorists, waterfalls, catastrophes, and psychiatrists define important life thresholds that they must step through. Ultimately, they must confront whether their lives are controlled by destiny or free will.

Rich with humor, poetry, music, imagery and using a creative story-t