The Rest Is Illusion

I seldom start and finish a book in one sitting. I'm not easily enticed into seven hour marathon reads, but Eric Arvin's first published novel THE REST IS ILLUSION managed to entice me. The minute I started I had to know what happened next and that feeling carried me to the final page. This is a fascinating book, with dramatic characters and relationships, a strong spiritual undercurrent, and a no-holds-barred approach to story telling. The setting is Verona College, a small private school nestled near a dark and, some might claim, enchanted river valley. Spring is coming, but the chill of winter still dominates. The first person we meet is Dashel Yarnsbrook, a senior suffering from an unnamed disease. Dash's best friends are his straight albino fraternity roommate Ashley Owen Walterhouse III and Sarah Coheen, a girl who loves Dash even though she knows he's gay. There is also Tony Votts, a kindhearted football jock struggling to hide his interest in other guys, and Wilder Rawls a smooth operator, determined to hold the upper hand in all situations. Through the course of a week the lives of these five students intertwine and drastically change. Ashley and Sarah bond over their mutual concern for Dash. Wilder's viciousness rears its ugly head and Tony must face the life shattering consequences. Tony's growing feelings for Dash seem to be the only thing keeping him from losing control. The fates are determined to play a part in this building drama even as the inevitable approaches and situations are not always as they seem. Hope vanishes as quickly as the mild weather, only to reappear like the sudden emergence of spring. Valor and love do their best to preserver as a classic battle between good and evil plays out on the remote college campus. With this novel Arvin demonstrates a real sense of the big picture. He has a firm grasp on what he sees as the truth to the illusions we manufacture while coping with life, and the beauty that exists beyond pain. There is a strong Celtic like spirituality that permeates the book leaving the reader with both a feeling of loss and abundant joy, truly a remarkable accomplishment. I have never read anything quite like it.

I do not know Eric Arvin personally. Do I like to? Absolutely. I like him. His style is lyric, musical, he loves his characters and what he does. Plus, he is young... His write is clever and warmth. His reading flows like a river, page by page, we find these characters, all loving and going to maturity with love and dignity...He does a beautiful prose and has a bright future.

Arvin, Eric. "The Rest is Illusion", [...], 2006 Watch Arvin Amos Lassen and Literary Pride Once in a while a book by a first time author knocks me out. Eric Arvin's "The Rest is Illusion" does just that. It is a beautiful coming of age story that has just about everything going for it--an engaging plot, wonderful characterization and a great command of the English language. Add a little bit of the supernatural and you have a book that you just can't put down. What makes this even more amazing is that coming of age stories are so plentiful that it is refreshing to get one that has something new to say. The plot will rope you in and keep you there and I felt as I closed the covers that I just wanted to read it again so I did. It was even better the second time. The scene of the action is at a college known as Verona. It is here that we meet the characters and begin our engagement of a multi-layered story that, even with its complexities, is endearing and a pleasure to read. Our characters, five college students, as facing a turning point in their lives and as they face themselves, their lives intersect and a plot of beauty emerges. We meet Sarah, the daughter of a conservative Baptist minister. She is facing a struggle within herself. On one hand she wants to break free from her parents. At the same time she is trying to make sense of her feelings toward a gay friend, Dashel, who is dying. There is Ash, an outcast because he is different. Tony is a football player who is dealing with his feelings for other men and is perhaps the only character who does not seem to be fully realized but then again, he is hiding something. Wilder is the son of a politician who thinks he is able to control lives especially among the weak. Our main characters carry this story. As I read the book my background in existential philosophy reminded me of the way I sometimes look at things and it was rewarding to read a novel with an existential bend to it. There is much under the surface of the novel as there is in it. It is an honest and sometimes eerie and scary look at coming of age. Everything that makes the book a thriller is there--the element of time, revenge, blackmail and madness. What I found so amazing was that with so much going on in the book, I always managed to know where I was and what was going on. Arvin is to be commended for that--it is no easy task. Arvin's language and his mastery of English is what really wins me over. His writing is beautiful and lyrical; at times almost poetic. His literary imagery is stunning and very well done. Yet the one thing above all else that stands in my mind is Arvin's descriptive qualities. Here is an author who is obviously grounded in poetry--his use of poetic terms such as similes and metaphors, personification and hyperbole are all there and right on the button. I am sure that some find the book "flowery". I personally love the scent of flowers when there is something in addition to a stem to hold them up. If t

The Rest is Illusion is a book that I wouldn't have picked up in the pass, but I'm glad I did. It's a book full of action, sadness, happiness, and start of forgiveness. You get wrapped up in the charters lives, and want to know what the next thing in their life is going too happened. It faces today's life issues as well. It was well written well and I can see it being a movie some day.

Eric Arvin's introductory novel, The Rest is Illusion, defies easy classification. The author describes his novel as "magical realism," in the style of James Purdy. Another, equally apt description may be fiction with a light smattering of wonder. In these turbulent times, a little wonder can be a welcome change. The Rest is Illusion takes place on the imagined campus of Verona College, a small liberal arts school somewhere in Midwest, USA. The plot weaves through the lives of a cast of characters, and the world changing events that shape their destinies over the short span of a single week. Protagonists Dashel, Ashley, Sarah, and Tony, find themselves pitted against the relentless evil-doings of Wilder Rawls, son of a prominent local politician, student of every bad thing his father ever did. Driven by an unseen force, Wilder's world will come crashing down, and bring his victims together to face their combined foe, once and for all. Eric Arvin is no stranger to the printed word, with published articles in several prominent online periodicals, including, most recently, [...] The Rest is Illusion is his first novel-length work, and he brings his unique gift for lurid description to every page. Through intricate detail, he transports his readers to another world, recognizable and tangible, yet sufficiently different as to be unique unto itself. Reading Eric's descriptive narrative is like watching a painting appear, one stroke at a time, until a renaissance masterpiece has been completed. The Rest is Illusion is an unusual tale told with dramatic flair. It may not be every reader's cup of tea, but for someone looking for a story that's a little different than the usual fare, it will be just what the doctor ordered. --Andrew Barriger, Author of Finding Faith, and others.