Product Description

Twenty-one-year-old narcoleptic Angel Duet knows her father harbors secrets. He loves and protects her, but his suspicious refusal to discuss her mother s death drives Angel to worship an image created from the little history she does have: her father's sketchy stories and her mother's treasured photography, studies of clouds that have hung in the their foyer for more than twenty years.

When her father's girlfriend moves in, the photographs come down, and Angel's search for truth becomes an obsession. As she struggles to uncover the past and gain control over the narcolepsy that often fogs her world, Angel descends into a dizzying realm of drugs, adultery, and confused desire that further obscures reality.

As Angel begins to expose a history she could never have imagined, she discovers her entire life has been anchored around lies. Accepting the truth, once found, is the key to understanding herself, her family, and her life. To truly awaken, Angel must realize that sometimes the gifts we receive are not what we want--and only in time do we see their worth.

At first glance, Aberrations is the story of a young woman who learns to live with her narcolepsy, and who struggles immensely to understand how her mom died when she was born and to discover who her mother really was. But the debut novel of Penelope Przekop moves insightfully into a whole other dimension, showing the reader how each of us lives a life of aberration, that we each have some kind of stigma or conflict or handicap to overcome. We also discover that having the strength to first seek out the truth and then to live with it can be quite challenging.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #854034 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781934572030
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review

A 2008 Book Blogger Top 10! Aberrations was voted the #5 top Mystery/Thriller for 2008. --Book Blogger

Recognized in PRINT Magazine's Regional Design Annual 2009 issue for outstanding cover art.

''Aberrations is a novel filled with gorgeous imagery, quirky characters and deep storytelling. It will stay with you long after you turn the final page!''
--Melissa Walker, journalist and YA author

''Aberrations alternates between stormy, stark, and poignant--contemporary Southern fiction at its finest. From the first page, Penelope Przekop plunges readers soul-deep, gifting them with the intriguingly flawed character of Angel Duet. Aberrations is an authentically told story of rebirth through the discovery of truth, and of the acceptance of peace and love in the aftermath of life's cruelest betrayals. Aberrations is one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Przekop writes as if she's been a best-selling author for years. She's created a stunning page-turner packed with emotion and beautiful storytelling.''
--Kim Lenox, author of Night Falls Darkly

Coming of age is often a difficult time in children's lives as they make that complex transition into adulthood. Author Penelope Przekop has deftly written Aberrations, the coming of age story of Angel Duet, a 21-year-old troubled narcoleptic. Angel struggles with seeking the truth about her mother, knowing her father harbors many secrets, and her own identity. Angel seeks solace with a new group of friends and finds herself further complicated, including dealing with homosexuality, drugs and adultery. Aberrations is a very edgy novel that explores through this engaging character the premise that coping mechanisms only gets a young adult so far before they are forced to face inconvenient truths about themselves and the world they live in. Readers are provided with an insightful and fascinating journey with Angel as she learns what the truth about her life is and how to accept it. 5 Stars! --Small Press Bookwatch

About the Author
Aberrations is Louisiana native Penelope Przekop's first novel. Her nonfiction book Six Sigma for Business Excellence was published in 2005. A director for Johnson & Johnson, Przekop now resides near Philadelphia.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Book- One of the Best I have Read- Ever!
This book was spectacular- I started it and could not put it down. My book club (Eat, Read, Laugh) was reading it. The book describes the main character's (Angel Duet) struggle with narcolepsy, which was very enlightening. I now understand what it must be like to live with this disease. The book is very well written and the characters all come alive. There is a lot happening with the plot and with each of the characters but the book is well-paced and easy to follow and it never seems orchestrated or far-fetched. I found many of the issues and struggles that there characters were dealing with to be timely and it was fairly easy to relate to each of the characters. The take home message I got from this book was that life is full of gray areas- there is not always a "right" answer. Also, everyone has some sort of struggle they are dealing with or burden they are carrying, and we are all bound together in that commonality and we should try and relate more effectively and compassionately with each other. I look forward to more books by Ms. Prezkop.

loved this book
To start off i think i should explain that i have Narcolepsy so this book of course will hit more personal notes with me than it might with those who do not suffer but i don't think that should deter anyone, this book is great in its own right, it just spoke to me more because of the connection i shared with the main character.

I recently met the author at a conference where i bought her book, i wasn't too sure what i was to expect, especially from someone who didn't have narcolepsy but i was intrigued nonetheless.

From the very first chapter it was clear to me that a lot of research had gone on before pen was put to paper, the character of Angel is an unbelievably accurate portrayal of someone with Narcolepsy, the way that the author explains all the difficulties that go hand in hand with this syndrome just add to the richness of this book.

I could not put this book down, it meant a lot to me. The story itself is captivating and well written, as with most well written books i started to feel attached to the characters.

To have captured so clearly the way that a syndrome can affect all aspects of a sufferers life without having the first hand knowledge is to me the sign of a great author.

I will definitely be paying attention to any future publications of hers.

A Great Read
This book was recommended by a colleague, another R.N. I'm usually disppointed by authors that try to incorporate medical concepts into a complex story line but this author did not disappoint. The medical concepts were accurate throughout the entire story. The book follows Angel, a young woman afflicted with narcolepsy. Angel is coping with the loss of her mother and dealing with a legacy of family lies she is now determined to uncover. Angel's search for answers leads her to some unlikey discoveries, including most importantly, self-discovery. Igive this book high marks...a great read!