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Alchemy
Failures washed over his workbench, dripping down his life. His quest to find the secret of changing lead into gold had consumed and shaken his soul. Yet he had merely strayed from the path he was meant to travel, clouded by the misty haze of obsession. When a little book comes into his life, it realigns his fate and lets the alchemy truly begin.
‘Alchemy’ is a story about a man’s evolution at the end of his life and how his preciousness is valued, not in the gold he makes; but the changes that he conjures. Strewn around poems that lead from dreams to magic, and prayers to happiness; the story navigates from despair to adjustment in surreal and magical landscapes.
Poetry and storytelling collide in this hybrid tale that mixes spirituality with personal well-being.
‘Alchemy’ is a story about a man’s evolution at the end of his life and how his preciousness is valued, not in the gold he makes; but the changes that he conjures. Strewn around poems that lead from dreams to magic, and prayers to happiness; the story navigates from despair to adjustment in surreal and magical landscapes.
Poetry and storytelling collide in this hybrid tale that mixes spirituality with personal well-being.
192 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2019
About the author
Mark Ryan
23 books21 followersMark Ryan was born in Oxford, growing up in the shadow of the dreaming spires. He studied film at London Metropolitan University, graduating to M.A in Film Theory.
He has published collections of poetry with ‘Echoes in Space’, ‘Graffitied Heart’ and ‘Drifting in and out of sleep’. ‘Keep it together’ is his contribution to the murder mystery arena as well as his short story collection, ‘Impermanence of things’.
‘The Gospel of No one’ is a poetry fiction hybrid novel, focusing on religious imagery and the inner workings, and broken pieces, of the soul.
His work leans, bends and sways to the metaphysical and supernatural, with a tendency to dabble in the macabre. Questioning questions and searching for answers in the eye of the storm, where there is always hope.
More at www.markryanhavoc.com and www.havocandconsequence.wordpress.com
Favourite quote: "Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music."
He has published collections of poetry with ‘Echoes in Space’, ‘Graffitied Heart’ and ‘Drifting in and out of sleep’. ‘Keep it together’ is his contribution to the murder mystery arena as well as his short story collection, ‘Impermanence of things’.
‘The Gospel of No one’ is a poetry fiction hybrid novel, focusing on religious imagery and the inner workings, and broken pieces, of the soul.
His work leans, bends and sways to the metaphysical and supernatural, with a tendency to dabble in the macabre. Questioning questions and searching for answers in the eye of the storm, where there is always hope.
More at www.markryanhavoc.com and www.havocandconsequence.wordpress.com
Favourite quote: "Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 14, 2019
A surreal experience
This book was quite the journey for me. I loved the combination of narrative storytelling and poetry. This may seem a bit over the top, but when I had finished, I truly felt I had just read something that was going to have an impact on my life. Kind of difficult to put that feeling into words. Alchemy is profound and beautiful.
This book was quite the journey for me. I loved the combination of narrative storytelling and poetry. This may seem a bit over the top, but when I had finished, I truly felt I had just read something that was going to have an impact on my life. Kind of difficult to put that feeling into words. Alchemy is profound and beautiful.
September 9, 2022
I have long been fascinated by alchemy. That's why I picked up this book. Its description suggests a story about someone's experiences with alchemy, either actual or symbolic.
Except it isn't. Several short sections of prose outline a story that appears to be set in the middle east, in a long-ago time. They present a man who is trying to create gold from lead. Intriguing details include his falcon friend and his sister Rachel. (The alchemist himself is unnamed.) Each prose section introduces changes in the lives of the two characters and is a moderately interesting story, although sparse on details, due to its brevity.
Between the short prose chapters are lengthy sections of poetry. The poems are not contemporaneous with the alchemist's story. They emanate from the present-day world, and show mental agonies and ecstasies. Many address someone designated as "you," but it's not clear if that is the poet's self, a lover, the reader, or someone else. A few use "we" and even fewer refer to a "she" and a "he." They certainly show a facility in assembling words into a deluge of vivid, even hectic, images. Here are a few examples, taken out of context:
"The elephant graveyard of hopes, where his bones crumble and crack in the burning sun of reality."
"A battlefield littered with bloody pieces of my heart and mind."
"...bees buzz like poets in despair."
"You are the gold that flashes. The carat on the stick I follow."
Unfortunately, this combination of prose and poetry did not work for me. Once engaged with the alchemist's story, I wanted to stay with it and discover how it unfolded. That's the normal way to read a work of fiction. The poetry sections (which consisted of dozens of poems) were a total distraction. In fact, on my first two attempts to read the book, I gave up in the middle of the first lot of poems. I prefer poetry in small doses, read slowly and savoured. Instead, on my third attempt at reading this book, I powered through them, just to get back to the prose story and, frankly, to finish the book.
It may have worked if the poems had a discernable relation to the story, but I couldn't find one. It's true that alchemy is repetitive, full of anguish, and may end in false success. Such themes can be found in the poems, but to me it seemed like this was two books mashed into one, and not effectively.
Lastly, I must mention that there were a great many errors, specifically misused words, such as "pouring" instead of "poring," "hooker" instead of "hookah," and many others.
While I recognize the passionate intensity of the poems, and was intrigued by the alchemist's story, I thought the combination was not a successful one.
Except it isn't. Several short sections of prose outline a story that appears to be set in the middle east, in a long-ago time. They present a man who is trying to create gold from lead. Intriguing details include his falcon friend and his sister Rachel. (The alchemist himself is unnamed.) Each prose section introduces changes in the lives of the two characters and is a moderately interesting story, although sparse on details, due to its brevity.
Between the short prose chapters are lengthy sections of poetry. The poems are not contemporaneous with the alchemist's story. They emanate from the present-day world, and show mental agonies and ecstasies. Many address someone designated as "you," but it's not clear if that is the poet's self, a lover, the reader, or someone else. A few use "we" and even fewer refer to a "she" and a "he." They certainly show a facility in assembling words into a deluge of vivid, even hectic, images. Here are a few examples, taken out of context:
"The elephant graveyard of hopes, where his bones crumble and crack in the burning sun of reality."
"A battlefield littered with bloody pieces of my heart and mind."
"...bees buzz like poets in despair."
"You are the gold that flashes. The carat on the stick I follow."
Unfortunately, this combination of prose and poetry did not work for me. Once engaged with the alchemist's story, I wanted to stay with it and discover how it unfolded. That's the normal way to read a work of fiction. The poetry sections (which consisted of dozens of poems) were a total distraction. In fact, on my first two attempts to read the book, I gave up in the middle of the first lot of poems. I prefer poetry in small doses, read slowly and savoured. Instead, on my third attempt at reading this book, I powered through them, just to get back to the prose story and, frankly, to finish the book.
It may have worked if the poems had a discernable relation to the story, but I couldn't find one. It's true that alchemy is repetitive, full of anguish, and may end in false success. Such themes can be found in the poems, but to me it seemed like this was two books mashed into one, and not effectively.
Lastly, I must mention that there were a great many errors, specifically misused words, such as "pouring" instead of "poring," "hooker" instead of "hookah," and many others.
While I recognize the passionate intensity of the poems, and was intrigued by the alchemist's story, I thought the combination was not a successful one.
February 16, 2021
I read this on my e-reader. Well, one of my very favorite writers has blown my mind again. Mark Ryan takes us on a spiritual journey inside the soul of two siblings who in many ways are two sides of the same coin. Each section of the story is complemented by a handful of poetry that interlaces the overall story arc with art and deeper emotion. As if getting a more in depth glance into the hearts of these two characters than we would ever get in a simple fiction story.
I loved the entire book and took my time savoring it. My favorite section of poetry was the bit on the alchemy of gold followed closely by the section on love born of experience. For the actual story part of it, I absolutely loved the final section, the old man of alchemy, having given his life to the pursuit of knowledge and unselfishness, begins a journey from this world to the next in a sweeping dream-like scene.
Mr. Ryan is an incredible author and multi-talented I wonder how I can continually be swept away in his art, and yet I am. My one and only complaint (which I’ve made multiple times of course) are the misspellings. They aren’t so bad as to stop me from reading but enough to cause a pause in the magic. It’s a minor beef and one I gladly overlook to partake of his landscape.
I can’t recommend him and this work enough.
I loved the entire book and took my time savoring it. My favorite section of poetry was the bit on the alchemy of gold followed closely by the section on love born of experience. For the actual story part of it, I absolutely loved the final section, the old man of alchemy, having given his life to the pursuit of knowledge and unselfishness, begins a journey from this world to the next in a sweeping dream-like scene.
Mr. Ryan is an incredible author and multi-talented I wonder how I can continually be swept away in his art, and yet I am. My one and only complaint (which I’ve made multiple times of course) are the misspellings. They aren’t so bad as to stop me from reading but enough to cause a pause in the magic. It’s a minor beef and one I gladly overlook to partake of his landscape.
I can’t recommend him and this work enough.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews