"What if the universe is really a giant thought?"
Theodore Reveil is one of the leading lights in String Theory physics, on his way to present his latest research at a triumphant meeting of his colleagues from around the world, when he realizes he has lost the notes for his presentation.
On the verge of panic, he is in the middle of ransacking his hotel room in search of the missing notes when he is stopped in his track by a voice--a vision of madness.
Thrown off his game, without his notes and shaken by what he has just experienced, he goes to the podium to deliver his speech nonetheless. And in the midst of his distraction and confusion, he poses the question, "What if the universe, instead of being a giant machine, as we have looked at it and studied it for the past three hundred years, is really a giant thought?"
Then he crosses a line which he can never step back over again, saying, "The infinities and singularities may be telling us that what we are missing is unknowable in terms of physical science. These unsolvable terms in our equations may be roadsigns pointing to consciousness--to God--as the missing piece of the puzzle."
Antiphony traces the downward spiral of Theodore's career in the wake of what he has said, and the remarkable transformation that leads him into the depths of madness.. or the revelation of the Final Theory, the ultimate secret of the universe.
Reviews
"Antiphony is a book so eloquent and brilliant that it requires time... to explore this obvious treasure. It is related to the great works of literature - James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Viginia Woolf, Solzhenitsyn, Dante Alighieri, Roberto Bolano, Tolstoy, Proust, Kazantzakis, Kafka, Melville, and Conrad are a few that come to mind."
"Chris Katsaropoulos' mind is so attuned to poetry, classical music, metaphysics, physics, science in general, and man's search for meaning that his book has portions, not unlike cadenzas in a piano concerto where the artist takes a pause from the orchestral score to expound on a note or phrase or thought that shows muscular and spiritual dexterity before returning to the work as a whole, that sing like few other authors can write."
"Katsaropoulos' grasp of physics is astonishing as is his ability to phrase theory in a manner comfortably decipherable. His deep entrenchment in literature and music blossoms on the page frequently. His grasp of the manifold variations of human relationships breathes of psychology breeding with philosophy. But most of all it is the serene beauty of his writing that mesmerizes and results in starting the book again once finished that proves this is a man of letters who has an enormous gift and future."
--Grady Harp, Poet - War Songs, Critic - Literary Aficionado, Art Historian - The Art of Man, Vitruvian Lens and PoetsArtists, Writer for art museum catalogues
"What I found most engaging about Antiphony are the questions it raises. Katsaropoulos raises many intriguing questions that offer metaphysical food for the mind. Read the book! The story is fascinating, and the writing is powerful and poetic."
--Joseph Yurt, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Antiphony is, in many ways, an awe-inspiring novel. It was, I think, written in awe. Awe of science and reason. Awe of intuition and faith. Awe of the one and the many, unity and diversity."
"Chris Katsaropoulos has a way of delving deeply into what seem like small moments--the whole novel takes place in just three or four days--and capturing all their nuances and vibrating tension."
"Throughout Antiphony the protagonist experiences dreams and visions that fill pages the way a flash flood fills a ravine--a torrent of words flowing into the space between the margins and pressing onward to the next page and the next."
"It makes me wonder how he did it."
--Al Riske, author of Precarious, Sabrina's Window, The Possibility of Snow, and Then We'd Be Happy
"Hold on to our chair or you will be totally transported out of your comfort zone by Antiphony. It doesn't matter if you haven't the foggiest idea what String Theory is... You will fall down a metaphorical rabbit hole alongside a scientist driven to prove his theory. Katsaropoulos is an emerging fresh literary voice..."
--Rita Kohn, NUVO Newsweekly
"When I first read about the subject of Antiphony, the first thing that came to mind was Jorge Luis Borges and his story "The Aleph." Then I read the book - and it only took a day because it is short and moves swiftly, even though many passages demand careful attention because the language is very rich."
"I felt that my hunch about Borges was valid, but I also found myself thinking about Asimov and even Faulkner. Not only that, I imagined this as an episode of the old Twilight Zone show, with Rod Serling intoning, "You are entering a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind." I could see Burgess Meredith or a similar character actor in the role of Theodore."
"But the comparisons I draw are only a few signposts that occurred to me. Antiphony is deep and highly imaginative, and stands on its own. I hadn't read anything of its type in a long time, and I'm glad I did."
--Mets6986, Amazon reviewer
"I enjoyed this book a lot. Antiphony is super smart but also accessible. It delves deeply into scientific theory as well as philosophy and some psychology but uses layperson language and felt really accessible to me."
"The writing style reminds me of Milan Kundera. I'm a huge fan of Kundera's work... so this is a big compliment. I think Kundera has a really unique voice and style that I never see anywhere and Katsaropoulos has a similar quality that lent some magic to the reading for me. Antiphony blends reality and non-reality in a fabulous way."
--Kathryn Vercillo, Diary of a Smart Chick
"I loved Theodore, wanted to sit down and have coffee with him and talk to him for hours. Going against the grain, especially if you didn't mean to do it in the first place is a hard path to follow."
"The writing style was superb, and my head was spinning with fodder. Watching Theodore's life crumble before his eyes, and his inability to cope (or perhaps ability to see more clearly for a different audience) was heart-breaking, maddening and incredible to read. The book was expertly written, made me think, and wasn't just another piece of fiction. The events aren't real, but they felt like they could be."
--Naimeless
"I liked Theodore Reveil. I found the crisis of conscience that he was going though fascinating--God versus science, or God and science, as opposed to all of his previous beliefs about God having no place in science or in a theory of the Universe."
"I liked the wide range of influences and topics apparent in this book--classical music and music theory, String Theory, poetry, literature, mythology, spiritualism and religion. The author took all of these and used them to weave a descriptive cloak around the characters and plot. The book was well paced and used numerous literary devices to great effect. Theodore's visions seemed to be expressed in a stream of consciousness manner, with thoughts and images coming out roughshod and disorganised, in a rapid, rambling fashion and a blurring together of ideas... They reminded me of the style of many passages in James Joyce's Ulysses."
"I would recommend this book of you are interested in the science and God question. If you enjoy literary fiction, combining poetry and prose, that deals with deep philosophical questions about the Universe in which we exist, and indeed about existence itself, then you will surely enjoy this book."
--Julian Froment, Life, Literature and Lewd Comments
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