"GRAND PRIZE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR" WINNER
— Independent Authors network
"WINNER" for Historical Fiction — Independent Authors Network
"WINNER" for Historical Fiction — Independent Authors Network
“I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS BOOK"
-THE JEWISH NEWS
“SCHNADER'S WRITING IS MULTI-SENSUAL & POWERFUL"
-NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS
“AUTHENTIC, INTENSE TALE OF COMING OF AGE IN VIETNAM ERA"
-RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
“IT IS SO WELL WRITTEN IT IS PARALLEL TO SHAKESPEARE...
A VERY, VERY POWERFUL READ ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY”
-DONNA SEEBO
Live on THE DONNA SEEBO RADIO SHOW
“⭐️STAFF PICK⭐️”
-VFW MAGAZINE'S BOOK CORNER, FEBRUARY 2023
“A FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC BOOK!"
-JIGGY JAGUAR
Live on BGE Radio & KJAG FM 92.1 (53 Station-Syndication), KC, MO & Atlanta, GA
“THE SERPENT PAPERS IS ELEGANT & ALLUSIVE, A SENSITIVE MEDITATION ON DISCOVERING ONE'S PRINCIPLES AND ACTING ON THEM"
-Aaron Kaiserman, PhD, English Literature Dep't, University of Ottawa
"WOW"
“This is an important book. This is literature that makes you happy that literature exists”
-Reviewer of The Serpent Papers on Audible
“I cried at the end and want to re-read it as soon as possible. A page turner with excellent character development & plenty of drama. Wow, just wow!"
-Anne Bacher, Amazon Reviewer
"Finished Book!!! Awesome!! Portions brought me to tears"
-Richard Simon, Renowned International Attorney
"This is an intense piece of fictionalized history- I finished in two days, even with March Madness. The only other work of fiction anywhere similar is American Pastoral [by Philip Roth]. This book is similarly horrific and fantastic, a miasma of life and death issues interlaced with the harsh reality of the ever present Vietnam War. It's got a Less Than Zero meets American Pastoral thing going on about it.
It's an important piece of art, and you can quote me on it!"
-MT Green, Amazon Reviewer
"Narration and story were off the chain ! I was riveted by the first sentence"
-Reviewer of The Serpent Papers on Audible
"I found the book deeply descriptive and moving"
-Reviewer of The Serpent Papers on Audible
"The best work I’ve seen come out of the USA in many years"
-Reviewer of The Serpent Papers on Audible from Australia
"One of the best books you will ever read"
-Jon Ostrow, Teacher
“Right at the top of my reads ever...”
-Skip Keith, Hampton Roads Writers
Cover Photo: Columbia Daily Spectator/John Taylor Lewis & Andrew Farber
"TELL US THE TRUTH"
Abridged Interview (2 min 15 sec)
https://twitter.com/TellUsTheTruth0/status/1519395356399783936
"The Neal Steele Radio Show"
Complete Interview (17 min)
"THE TOM SUMNER RADIO SHOW"
Complete Interview (43 min)
https://rss.com/podcasts/tomsumnerprogram/406332/
"LEWIS AT LARGE" RADIO SHOW
Complete Interview (27 min)
J-Bee, son of a military officer, is raised in a violent milieu during the 1960s. After his little brother is persecuted by bullies, J-Bee commits a retaliatory act of brutality, the nature of which scars him. When his best friend, Gilly, volunteers to fight in Vietnam, J-Bee—repulsed by his own violence—refuses to follow either his father or Gilly into the military. Instead, he matriculates at Columbia University in 1971, an era of counterculture, drugs and sex and rock ‘n roll, in order to seek his redemption.
While there, he is introduced to the mysterious Serpent, who recites in the campus café, and to the politically active Margo who schools him in anti-war politics and the virtues of peace. Although he feels loyalty to his best friend (Gilly) fighting overseas, he increasingly sympathizes with Margo’s rationale against the war. Torn between supporting the war or protesting against it, J-Bee’s paradoxical feelings are ignited when his friend Gilly, on furlough from Vietnam, visits him at Columbia. With ratcheting tensions and bullhorns leading students in protest, pro-war and anti-war factions collide in campus riots, and J-Bee makes the choice that defines his life, solidifying his outlook on violence.
EXCERPT FROM: THE SERPENT PAPERS
Abruptly, something deep inside me—a ragged hairy beast locked away, chained for a lifetime to dungeon walls—was roaring, his sound percolating from the depths of my subconscious into my waking state. I felt him shake off his chains, stretch his arms and legs and burst forth from his shadowy cell. Stupefied, I felt life renewed. As cars and people danced down the street, I sat spellbound at the spectacular parade, consumed by love. I had magic within me, and though the people I saw were grotesque—striped, angular, dogfaced—they were magnificent, and I was the gifted witness. Enraptured, I feasted on beauty, grateful to be alive in such a vibrant, colorful painting. So abject yet so privileged amongst all living things, I sobbed to be gifted such sensual wonder.
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