Intimate Relations with Strangers

As soon as I finished reading this, I immediately started reading it again, thinking I missed something. When I reached the end, the second time, I realized, I didn't miss anything. This book is well written, so well written the thing I thought I missed HAD to be intentional; and was intentionally well-done at that. This was my favorite book of 2007, hands down.

In Intimate Relations with Strangers, the main character is at first a boy who has vague recollections of past lives, eerie encounters with a seeming alternate reality--a parallel universe. The complexities of his existence continue into manhood when he becomes a soldier fighting a senseless war. This futuristic novel is dark and so intriguing that at times I closed the book in awe, needing to catch my breath before being pulled back into the atrocious war and the soldier's sad and complicated life. Though this isn't a feel-good book and it certainly has no comedic passages, I found myself giving in to bursts of laughter throughout the novel. Admittedly, I have a morbid sense of humor but I suspect the author does too. The unnamed characters crept into my dreams and the moody tone of the story has been lingering with me for days. David V. Bernard's writing is heartbreakingly beautiful and I look forward to reading more of this brilliant author's work.

INTIMATE RELATIONS WITH STRANGERS by David Valentine Bernard was the most interesting superficial fiction book I ever read that seemed so realistic. The book elaborates on various situations that makes your mind wonder and relates to bizarre incidents of the past. This book was definitely a page turner and somewhat of a mystery. I recommend this book to all to read because it's phenomenal from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more of David Valentine Bernard's books in the future. He is now considered one of the best sci-fi author's ever! Reviewed by: Tekisha

I found Intimate Relations with Strangers to be both disturbing and thought-provoking. Rather than be put off by the randomness of events, or the thin characterizations, I allowed myself to be swept along in Bernard's alternate universes, and was transported. His tale at times felt like it was the story of MY life...not in particular events, but in the questioning of reality....sort of like David Byrne slapping his head and saying "this is not my beautiful house..." A wonderful book...I look forward to more from Mr. Bernard.

D.V. Bernard writes on his website that he loves books that are not afraid to tackle the hard topics of their day. He has certainly crafted such a tale with his latest release, Intimate Relations with Strangers. This intricately woven story explores the idea of a post-9/11 world in which the President has been assassinated and the country is entrenched in war in Saharan Africa. The unnamed protagonist is a soldier who has always felt a sense of otherness, like he is not of this world and continually battles with the question of whether the life he has been living is reality. After a disturbing childhood experience, the soldier is led on a mentally exhausting quest for a woman, who from the time he lays eyes on her, inextricably becomes a part of his very being. Memories of the woman and the sense that he has known her in another place and time haunt him as he fights in a horrific war from which he emerges a hero that the government places on display for the country's adoration. The soldier finally rediscovers the woman and meets a host of other strangers that he has known before whom all confirm what he has always known. This was my first time reading Bernard's work and I can only call it an experience. This is not a quick, mindless entertaining read. It is quite a dark tale and I found myself often going back in the story to reconfirm that a particular event had actually taken place. Bernard is skillful at playing with the reader's recall and he will have you constantly questioning, right along with the protagonist. I was left pondering whether the lives we are living are reality. Is it possible to start a new life in the blink of an eye, yet have old lives intersect with new ones? Essentially, this is an extremely well-written story from an author who takes thinking outside-the-box to a whole other level. I also liked that the social and political commentary on present day concerns was not ranting, although it could have been in part because it was told from the perspective of a soldier at war. Although it was a dark story with no neat and tidy feel-good resolution, I also found myself amused at times at the sarcasm of certain situations. I would recommend this book to those deep thinkers who want to imagine the unimaginable. Danielle Hatchett APOOO BookClub