Introduction
For most of us, life is a comfortable routine which progresses from day to day in a completely predictable manner. Or so we think. For as the sameness of our daily life comforts us and eases the performance of our daily tasks, so, too, does it seduce us, lull us into a false sense of security, and deceive us into believing that what is will always be.
But the only thing constant about life is change. And most changes come as surprises to us, shocking and taking us off guard by coming at times when we feel we are least prepared. And so we struggle, physically and mentally, to hang on to the old ways, the old ideas, and the old routines.
But fate doesn't permit interference by mere interested mortals. And in any tug of war between man and his destiny, the outcome, like destiny itself, remains unaffected by man's pathetic desire to cling to the status quo.
Cheryl Burke, the main character in Mr. Mark Jeggers' latest literary contribution, is an example of man's tenacious but ill-fated attempt to hold fast to the comfortable ways of the past. Her stubborn refusal to accept change becomes evident early in the work, when we find her-an adolescent girl of thirteen-confronted, for the first time, with the realities of human desire and sexual expression. Not even waiting long enough to try to understand what it is that she is seeing and experiencing, Cheryl runs from the encounter. And like the species of creature which she represents, she continues running until her way is barred.
As we observe Cheryl during a short but important period of time in her life, we see her being confronted by one shocking surprise after another. Each time circumstances force her to accept change-both in her life and in her way of viewing it-Cheryl allows herself to be deceived again. Each time that she thinks she has come to a new understanding of the ways of the universe, she learns, only moments later, that she is wrong again. Each time she concludes, "Oh, life is like that? she is brought swiftly to the realization that it isn't like that at all.
As Cheryl's world continues to change abruptly -each change a little more drastic than the previous one-a pattern begins to emerge. First she is forced to reject all the things that she has always believed in, learning to see herself, her brother, and her life in a new light. Then, as she gropes about in the dark for a new set of standards to replace those which she has lost-or abandoned-she begins to doubt that any solution to her problems will ever be found.
By weaving the lives of the characters into a tightly meshed fabric of adventure, the author manages to imbue this novel and the development of its plot with a total sense of surprise. Bobby, the tough young Black with the beat-up old Chevrolet, turns out to be a Black knight. But the weapon with which he rescues the damsel in distress is a weapon of the ghetto and of the mobsters against whom he is working. David, the twenty-eight-year-old white man, turns out to be a student, the last thing that Cheryl would have taken him for. Frank Moran, the smooth-talking, sharply dressed businessman, turns out to be a cruel monster whose only desire is Cheryl's degradation. And her degradation at the hands of a French mobster is avenged by the use of sevate, the French art of foot fighting.
As Cheryl is dragged to the very depths of degradation she begins to adopt a new way of looking at life. And here again the characters in the book as well as the readers are faced with a series of surprises as Annie, the hip young coed, simpers and goes to pieces while Cheryl, the sheltered and innocent teenager, faces life's problems with calm, tough reserve.
But, of course, the greatest surprise comes at the end when we see where Cheryl's horror and degradation at the hands of Frank Moran and his band of cutthroats leads. Not even the skillfully written juxtaposition of Cheryl's degradation by a white man with the filmed rape by two Black brutes of a white girl prepares the reader for the shock of recognition which occurs in the final chapter of the book.
And then, just as the reader begins to nod his head knowingly and murmur "aaah" at his new understanding, the author shocks him again with the final surprise. The message is clear. Those who think that they know what is coming next are also wrong because it will always be the unexpected.
In addition to holding the reader in its fascinating grip, this book will teach him a valuable lesson. Keep your mind open to life's surprises. Don't get too attached to anything, whether it be a way of life or a way of looking at life. For man is small and not the least in control of the forces which mold and shape his destiny.
-The Publisher