A Body of Fates by Kenneth Evren

 A Body of Fates

 by Kenneth Evren



Letter from the Author

Dear Reader,

The story was inspired by the real-life tragedy of losing my wife to MS when our boys were very young. This life altering event brought up a host of if-only demons exorcized in the writing of this book. The story explores chance, choice, ancestry and genes through four generations of extraordinary women and dreadnought mothers as they navigate emigration, two world wars, depression, recession and cultural upheaval, each in turn delivering their children safely into their future. The narrator is last in four generations of husbands each of whom is abused, addicted or damaged in some way. The primacy of motherhood is chronicled in the voice of fatherhood. A twist on the Greek myth of The Fates, the villain of the story is the narrator’s personal Fate, a being he becomes convinced is real, she torments his dreams whispering malign revelations about his life’s choices and all the things he did and did not do. In retelling family history he ponders love, regret and redemption, sex and power, the old animus of science and religion, the endurance of suffering and the resilience of family. The style is speculative, surrealist fiction in the spirit of Rushdie, Atwood, Murakami and Bradbury to name just a few of my favourite writers. My hope is you will find this story to be an intriguing, tender, tragic and funny metaphysical mosaic of one family’s multigeneration history.

 With thanks, Ken Evren D





My Review

This is certainly a book that will leave an impression with you long after you have finished reading it. Whether it is an impression you want only you can tell as it really does get you thinking in different dimensions.

The knowledge that on New Year's Day 2000 life changes for Dave and Deborah and the past and the present now become intertwined, along with the consequences it has on them is a clever idea, especially when linked to the telling of The Fates from Greek Mythology. Dave encountering his own Fate through his dreams is an interesting idea and gives the reader plenty to think about.

For a debut novel this is clever, and I appreciate that it was inspired by a personal and real life tragedy. Kenneth has used these experiences to develop the storyline.It will get you thinking, it will have you looking at aspects of your life in a different light. A Body of Fates is one of those books which you will either enjoy and really appreciate the cleverness of , or you will loathe it and not get past the first few chapters. For me it was the former.


About the Author


Ken lives in Vancouver with his family. He enjoys the ineffable in story, music,science and love.

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