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Paradise Fermenting
by Gerd Balke
314 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #00-0110; ISBN 1-55212-446-0; US$25.50, C$30.70, EUR21.00, £15.00
A group of young drifters, who believe to have found the biblical Garden of Eden, learn the hard way that paradise is also the place where sin originated and that perfection is perhaps as close to desolation as the madman is to the genius.
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about the book about the author sample excerpt catalogue info
About the Book
A German photographer on assignment in Sri Lanka, stumbles across a beautiful American woman. Together they narrowly escape a suicide bombing by a local terrorist group.
Taking a break from work, in a country that most would describe as paradise, they find that first impressions are totally misleading. Paradise is a personal experience, as are appearances, and what may be lovable for some can by quite barbaric for others.
The real paradise however - the actual Garden of Eden - they never thought truly existed. Not until an American anthropology professor assures them that it does. He is convinced of having found the biblical paradise, but seems to have forgotten that it is a place where sin originated.
Chasing their individual dreams, a group of drifters joins him on the journey to paradise, but instead of the heaven they expect, they find nothing but their worst nightmares.
About the Author
Having been born in the aftermath of WWII Germany, was perhaps the true catalyst in the life of Gerd Balke that was responsible for having turned him into a devoted pacifist. A conscientious objector and one time student activist, he participated in anti-war demonstrations during the 70s in Europe and clearly prefers Rock & Roll over any military hardware.
He has traveled extensively in Asia, speaks several languages including Chinese and Thai, and always has his heart and soul glued to the pulse of life. there, he loves the ideology, the mysticism and powerful spirituality, which, when fused with Western consciousness, makes up the kind of philosophy he's interested in. he is devoted to travel and meeting people and would be going to Mars if he could only get a visa. His spiritual encounters included a stay in a buddhist Monastery in the Himalayan Mountains and a brush with death on the island of Bali.
In 79 he moved to Hong Kong, married a Chinese woman, pursued a professional career in Engineering and studied Kung Fu and Quantum Mechanics for kicks. He loves to discuss life and the secrets of the Universe with people who are equally taken by the subject and most enthusiastically shares a bottle of Glenmorangie with anyone who dares the challenge.
He has a license to handle explosives but stubbornly refuses to offer his skills to revolutionary purposes. Instead he chose the written word to transmit his thoughts. Gerd Balke writes about culture, philosophy and ways of the world. He is an active member of the Hong Kong Writer's Circle.
Sample Excerpt
As humans, we are pre-programmed. Our mental system is linked to everything we experience in the world that surrounds us. Often we believe only what we want to believe, even without proper reason or justification and regardless of how strange it might sound at the time. We judge repeatedly by appearances and what our heart tells us to believe although our intellect tells us different. Once our mind is made up, there is very little hope of changing it back.
People swear they see UFOs and aliens, monsters and wicked neighbors. They have no problem believing what their mental state suggests to them. This phenomenon is part of our environment, it is the result of the way we live and the mental food we offer our brains. In our minds we create pictures and depending on our mental state, these pictures take on physical form. they change constantly. In a normal state, an image may be seen as 'beauty', but it can also take on the shape of a surrealistic beast if we are subjected to the appropriate conditioning.
