Awakening

~A San Juan Islands Adventure ~

"Hairier than Potter, deeper than Holes, funnier than a rubber gooeyduck!"
Charlie Wise, author of Lyssa and the Pirates

"... vivid, quirky characters, spot-on dialogue, and laugh-out-loud humor"
Anjali Banerjee, author of Maya Running

Awakening Curry Buckle-bookcover

"A novel for the 'young in mind'...a breathtaking mystery / detective story of psychic abilities, corrupt politics, and wrestling with life's deep issues. A skillful, profound, yet entertaining take on what it means to be a young adult today and always."

MARGARET DOYLE, AUTHOR OF FISHERMAN'S QUILT

On a sleepy Northwest island….

As presaged in a dream, Darwin Bownes arrives from off-island to help Curry solve the riddle of a Tibetan amulet, and decipher a Sanskrit inscription on a drum... a drum that seemingly wants to be played by no one but Darwin.

Darwin goads Curry into exploring his emerging powers, and they set up a swami booth at a school bazaar to help raise money to save Kluge Island's beloved Camp Bluetoad. But their good intentions attract the wrong people seeking the wrong kind of help. Curry and Darwin become enmeshed in deep intrigue involving a madman’s treasure and a murder investigation.

Curry and Darwin must each undergo a harrowing test to keep alive the sputtering flame of ancient wisdom.

Read Chapter 1

Swami Curryban and You, December 2, 2005

Michael Donnelly's new book, Awakening Curry Buckle, (Blue Works Publishing) hurtles the reader on a madcap dash across the difficult and uncertain terrain between children's and adult literature. Seldom is a book produced that can be read and enjoyed equally by youngsters from nine to ninety. In this novel, Donnelly accomplishes this feat by withholding preachy life lessons, political correctness and conventional moralizing. The reader must only fasten his seat belt and turn the pages to fly along with Darwin Bownes and his buddy, Curry Buckle while they transform quiet Kluge Island into a wonderland of intrigue and adventure.

Remember when the notion of buried treasure, dangerous midnight rendezvous, hexes, spells, murder and magic stirred your blood and set your heart racing? Toss in a few belly laughs, set the stage in the Pacific Northwest, and in Awakening Curry Buckle, you get all that and more. Donnelly's crisp, lean prose is the perfect vehicle for his razor sharp wit and flannel-shirted savoir faire, and his sense of the absurd delights and surprises at every turn.

Pick up a copy of Awakening Curry Buckle for your niece or nephew, and then throw a second in the bag for yourself.

William Schroder
Author, Cousins of Color

Reflections

I am the son of a small-town newspaper editor. When young, I watched a mob of local citizens lynch and burn an effigy of my father from our front yard elm tree. My parents, however, refused to be run out of town. This is the predicament of the narrator's--Darwin Bownes'--family, and this kind of perseverance in the face of ignorance makes Curry and Darwin my kind of people.

I like islanders…mostly. By geography and by choice they stand apart from trendiness and cheap values. Having discrete boundaries encourages a sense of community, caring for each other, caring for the ecosystem they are a part of. I’ve explored dozens—perhaps hundreds—of Pacific Northwest islands, mostly by kayak. Whether or not currently inhabited, they all have their histories.

And I’m intrigued by the deep genius that bubbles up in those who have prepared themselves for it, whether in the fields of science, the arts, business, athletics, or spiritual realization. My particular fascination is with the fabled golden-age civilizations pre-dating recorded history, whose highest teachings, I can’t help but think, are re-emerging after a long dark age.

I am a raging optimist.

Author Interview

About the Inspiration

In 1949, the Chinese Communists invaded Tibet. For thousands of years these Himalayan caves and monasteries had been home to saintly lamas (priests) and their devout followers. In the ensuing occupation the Chinese destroyed ancient temples by the hundreds, tortured and executed thousands of lamas, desecrated their religious and cultural icons—including use of sacred manuscripts for toilet paper—and continue to suppress and eradicate Tibetan cultures to this day.

From my deep revulsion and horror came the thought that perhaps the time had come for the embers of soul-knowledge, long kept glowing in the craggy Himalayas, to be spread into the world at large. What if the brutality of the invaders is, on a deeper level, fanning the flames of world brotherhood?

And what if one of the murdered lamas happened to be reborn on a rural Northwest island?

Discussion Guide