bookreview



	Book review of Fountain of Ecstasy As Reviewed by New York Times Best-Selling Author Ellen Tanner Marsh

		In Fountain of Ecstasy, David Kendrick attempts one of the most difficult forms of the novel, the novel of ideas. In many cases, the novel of ideas falls short on plot and heavy on ideas; like Voltaire's Candide, such works tend to be composed of characters engaging in intellectual conversation. While this is basically the foundation of Kendrick's novel, it should be noted that the author manages, most admirably, to draw in the reader through the originality and force of his notions. The main character of the novel, Killap Moley, is searching for the logical and scientific proofs for the existence of God. His job in a rubber mill in Mississippi at first glance to be non-conducive to the kind of intellectual thought necessary to tackel such profound pursuits. After all, how many philosopher kings are there to be found in blue collar professions? And yet, in this unlikely setting, Moley achieves the epiphany--or indeed the intellectual "fountain of ecstasy" -- necessary to unite libraries of history, theology, philosophy, and historical speculation into a sustained case for the existence of God, as well as the necessity of Christ. Fans of speculative thought will be drawn in particular to Chapter 4 of the novel, in which Moley lays out his long, dense, and deeply-considered arguments. Like much of the novel, Chapter 4 is clearly intended for serious readers; for speculative thinking -- wildly popular as it has been, most recently and notably in The Da Vinci Code or the movie National Treasure -- lifts the novel above casual reading and helps it achieve status as part of a serious and a popular genre. Some will scoff at Moley's notions, some will find kinship with them, but all who value seeing an intellect wrestle through serious and difficult problems will be intrigued by them. Through the whole novel, an interesting dichotomy emerges between Moley and a character named Junior in their views of science and technology. Junior asks Moley for a scientific argument for the existence of God, and Moley responds with what seems anything but science. It is soon clear, however, that Junior is thinking of science in the mere functional sense of how things work, and Moley is thinking in the more philosophical and interdisciplinary sense of why things must be as they are. This dichotomy becomes a secondary theme of the novel, and speaks to an overly-technological world on the intellectual, not merely functional aspect of science. In this distinction, Moley is aided in constructing his proofs for the existence of God. It is a genre of philosophy that goes back as far as Acquinas, but Kendrick shows us that the subject is by no means rested and that new voices can uncover new angles to this ultimate of questions.

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