WALKING ON ELECTRIC AIR_more than a good read

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a book review, which makes it all the sweeter to write about Walking On Electric Air by Stephen Cubine. The book was a real change of pace compared to the sci-fi/fantasy fare I usually stick to but I’m really glad I had the opportunity to branch out a bit and take in something new. It actually makes me realize just how much I probably miss because I’m so stuck in the genres I think I like. So, with that said, this book doesn’t involve intergalactic war or time travel. Its neither post-apocalyptic nor alternate history. What this book is… is good. It’s very good, in fact.

Image courtesy of: The Indie Spotlight

Walking On Electric Air brings together three very different characters, living three very different lives, with one significant thing in common:  each is trapped in a world of fear, regret, and unhappiness.  Dottie is a suicidal housewife.  Shelby is an alcoholic mechanic.  And Lynda is a physically abused yet stunningly beautiful dreamer.   Together, the unlikely group embarks on an impromptu voyage of self-discovery, helping each other through their weaker moments, and pushing one another toward their ultimate goal: happiness.  This “voyage”, which boils down to a cross-country road trip, is an out-right adventure as the group is pursued by one nagging mother and husband, a vengeful (and homicidal) ex-boyfriend, and a pair of pissed off drug dealers.

Her father leaned into her and whispered, “You know you’re truly happy when you can walk on electric air and not be afraid – like him. To be that happy, it’s all any of us really want.”

Steve, the author, is an old friend and to see him write something like this, something so moving and inspirational is… well… inspirational.   Here is a novel that is both entertaining and fun to read that also has meaning… that has a higher purpose.  That’s something I often struggle with in my own writing:  having a higher purpose other than to entertain or, even worse, to simply kill time.  Walking On Electric Air has that purpose.  Steve’s book is about happiness… and the pursuit of that happiness.  It’s about realizing that this is the only life we get and if you’re not happy that it’s worth risking everything to find that happiness.

Walking On Electric Air is inspiring… not just to me as an aspiring writer myself but to me as a human being struggling with the same feelings of discontent and confusion as everybody else.  The moral of the story is simple: do what makes you happy.

So… anyway… go read the book!