A JOURNEY THROUGH THE SHADES OF LOVE

by George Loukaitis

“Shades of Love” recounts the life of an ordinary young man and the circumstances that lead him to a life of illegality, danger and, eventually, the relentless pursuit of mega bucks. At nineteen, John Zimit, born of mixed parentage in Port Said during the Second World War, is forced by penury to associate with a friend in a cigarette smuggling operation. A troubled childhood ties him intimately to his mother and when she dies, he quits the partnership and moves to Cairo. Two years later, with his sentimental and professional life in a mess, he leaves Egypt and embarks on a ship to India. An unfortunate incident causes him to jump ship in Mumbai and go into hiding. He remains in India for two years, meets remarkable people, and is fascinated by India’s heritage of erotic temples and the Tantric philosophy. For a few years, he forms a joint venture with an Indian businessman but human greed on all sides including his own drives him on a path of unlawful quick enrichment. The contradiction between his humane and tolerant nature and the life he leads makes for an appealing personality and a captivating narrative.
An unorthodox adventurer, John Zimit, was a gentle person, a person who loved women, a feminist who appreciated their qualities, beauty and intelligence. He fell in love easily and out of love with misgivings. He read books, traveled widely and loved many women. One of them, his first teenage lover, captured his heart and soul and tied them in a Gordian knot. Through his travels and adventures, through his encounters with women and persons high and low, he offers us insights into the unchanging human condition, the good and bad of our human nature. Though not an intellectual, he rationalized and lived by his own nonconformist but humane and tolerant moral code.
The narration contains explicit descriptions of sex, which, however, are never vulgar or pornographic.

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2012

Reviews

[Kevin C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disjointed story. It starts out with a 14 year old kid named John who has relations with a 14 year old girl. Then he has relations with his Mom. After that, a Showgirl... An Aunt... And a couple of other girls he meets. He takes a job as a Mechanic and also helps steal illegal cigarettes off a ship. There were so many times the story took an abrupt left turn into seemingly a writers wasteland, that just didn't make sense and goes "whoops".. back on track!!!
In the end, John is in his 50s and nobody wants to around him, until he convinces one of old loves, who has a couple of children from another man, that he is more than capable of taking care of them all, because he feels he needs a family now... End of book!!!