Anomie

Anomie

Anomie is a uniquely told story of Michael, an American Indian university professor and writer. After a series of tragic events, he seeks closure through myriad experiences, in order to bring balance to his world. Will he find himself in China?

“Readers who want a philosophical, accessible, and involving read that uses the character of a displaced American professor in China to explore these transition points will find in Anomie an exploration of the connections between individual and society, all wound up in the microcosm of one man’s life and bundled into a story that seems light, but quickly moves into the depths of darkness and out again.”

—Midwest Review, D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer

“Anomie is a book that draws you in from the first page. The author chooses to start the reader off in the middle of events and work semi-backwards to figure out what led Michael to China in the first place before moving into the present and the future. It’s a genius way to begin a book in which the main character is trying to find his way toward understanding who he is and what he wants out of life.”  

—Gabriel Reads

“MARQUETTE – A Manistique native has published his first novel, written a long way from home, but using some Upper Peninsula settings.”

—The Mining Journal

“A very unique story with an original plot.”

—Juniper Grove

“…there were things in the book that made me laugh, and I mean truly laugh out loud and people around me started looking me …”

—Books Are My Way of Living

“With strong clear prose Jeff Lockwood illuminates the state of moving between cultures, physically, emotionally, and romantically. It’s not that his character, Michael, has no connections, or no heritage. And yet, from the age of three, he has chosen to separate himself, to be an outsider even in the places, and with the people, he loves. Much of the book takes place in China, but it is really a story of homecoming, of a man who slowly comes to discover where he belongs, and just how important it is to know and embrace that.”

—Rachel Pollack, author of The Child Eater, A Novel, recipient of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the World Fantasy Award, among others

“Anomie is the compelling story of an American professor, who explores the maximum of humanity, while teaching in China. His introspection of personality, psychology, and intimacy serves as his spiritual sustenance and emotional outlet. The story is filled with a hint of hesitation, disappointment, and sentiment, which is by no means just personal lament, but a projection of the disillusionment of reality in the heart of the protagonist. The flow of lost happiness and bitter desire is intertwined in the sentences so wonderfully crafted by author Jeffrey Lockwood. Anomie is a confession of love for life, and of identity, in turbulent and mutable societies.”

—Cherish Liu, coauthor of Zi Liu Ji, a collection of bilingual poetry, Heilongjiang University Press, 2012.

“Within the pages of Anomie, author Jeffrey Lockwood contrives the life story of Michael, through his search for self-fulfillment and a sense of belonging. His journey leads him from the U.S. to Ukraine and China. His eyes study the people around him. Their pasts and futures intersect with his. But, these places bring him only restlessness and alienation, as one could assume from the novel’s title. Anomie is an ingeniously crafted, intriguing novel about one man’s search for his own sense of place, and the place where he belongs.”

—Angela Wang, M.A., scholar of English language,
literature, and culture

About the Author

Photo: Fan Dan Dan ©

Jeffrey Lockwood hails from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and is a member of the Chippewa tribe there. He is the author of In These Low Mountains (March Street Press), a chapbook of poems and short stories, and has several other published poems and short stories in print. Jeff has lived internationally for many years, as a soldier, Fulbright Scholar, Peace Corps volunteer, and teacher. Presently, he writes in Inner Mongolia. Anomie is his first novel.