Four D

by Gregory Morrison

Overview

Four D consists of four chapters: "Space", "Four Rooms", "The Principle of Luidgi", and "Guest". "Space" is a story about disappearances. The characters lives in a world of disappearing people and objects, which might or might not be important. In such a flexible reality, one should not get used to or attached to anything. However, the main character falls in love and finds a best friend despite all risks. To top it all off, he is visited by Space-the power that stands behind all the disappearances. "Four Rooms" is a story about a young woman called Elise. Elise had always been a prisoner of her own mind. But at some point everything took a turn. She had to make a stand when she found herself at a life changing situation in a dark room with four doors. She has to open all doors and enter every room with its own mystery and secrets and has to do it immediately. Going through the four rooms is a challenge Elise has to complete to find something she needs so badly - the truth. "The Principle of Luidgi" is a story about Luidgi. Luidgi has everything: a beautiful girlfriend, a good job, a lovely apartment, trusted friends but instead of being happy and grateful he's sick and tired of it all. Luidgi decide to change everything despite all costs. "Guest" is a story about the character who wants to meet the Guest. Finally one day he makes decision to do "it" and Guest arrives. Now all his questions are about to be answered, but is it really what he wants? These tense mysterious stories with incredibly engaging plots will not leave any reader feeling indifferent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781463792664
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	11/23/2011
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Gregory Morrison works as a script writer and author. He has written scripts for short films such as "Stain Remover" and "Frankie Said Relax." In his free time, he likes traveling, spending time with friends and is an amateur photographer. Morrison currently lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

In his ancient proverb, Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi questions the nature of reality and what constitutes a dream. This adage is often paraphrased in English: "Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I am a man?"

In other words, where do we draw the line between reality and fantasy? And is it even possible to distinguish between the two?

The characters in Gregory Morrison's debut collection of four short stories, Four D, grapple with such questions while trying to make sense of their lives. The author is at his best when he delves into broad concepts: the comparison of reality to dreams, the horror of mental illness, and what motivates people to act the way they do.

ForeWord Clarion Review

Confused people with hazy longings confront mysterious forces in this collection of four enigmatic stories. Morrison's characters, often nameless and adrift in undefined settings without social referents, are the playthings of spectral entities that ensnare them in Kafka-esque conundrums. The anonymous protagonist of "Space" notices that people, objects and buildings have suddenly started disappearing and feels that "I myself am probably nobody anymore." He's not unhappy with the prospect, until the strange power behind the disappearances starts manipulating his relationships with his lover and best friend. In "Four Rooms," a woman with multiple personality disorder awakens to find herself imprisoned in a labyrinth of rooms, and her search for a way out forces her to confront her devastating divorce and the bickering voices in her head. In "Guest," an unnamed man in an unfamiliar city invites a beautiful woman into his hotel room; she seems to embody the bounty of nature—or the even greater promise of death. The collection's most conventional tale, "The Principle of Luidgi," features a callow young man who works hard to accumulate a satisfying job, good friends and a fiancée—only to decide that everything bores him, so he lets loose with a spree of sexual vandalism. Morrison's storytelling has a dreamlike quality as it glides past logical non sequiturs and resonant symbolism—"She immediately opened her mouth broadly, and I saw her pull a pair out of it…‘See, I can bear fruit too' "—with deadpan equanimity. The foggy narratives and cryptic dialogue make the stories as puzzling and eerie—and sometimes as tedious—as dreams can be. Still, Morrison's poetic imagery ("[b]ig, brown sweet cherries started to fall out of her dark eyes") and off-kilter japes ("he was going to drop by the market to get some tomatoes…he'd buy them, put them in the kitchen and start hypnotizing them to make them talk") give his surrealist prose considerable charm. A grab-bag of fables that baffle but also beguile.

Kirkus Reviews