98.6: A Novel

A novel that marks the end of a generation of hope without giving in to hopelessness

A group of people, trying to contend with the failure of hope that took place at the end of the sixties, withdraws from what they call "The Dynasty of the Million Lies" and creates a settlement in the woods of the far west. These refugees from our culture, trying to live a healthy, normal life as pioneers of a latter-day frontier, find they are forced to pay heavily for their retreat in terms of sexuality, death and insanity. The novel consists of three parts: "Frankenstein", "The Children of Frankenstein" and "Palestine." The first section is a disjointed documentary collage expressing the violent chaos of the culture, the second is a narrative about the settlement with its communal and sexual experimentation, and the third, "Palestine," is a utopian vision of Israel that takes place on a perfect kibbutz in which all problems are solved.

Ronald Sukenick (July 14, 1932 Brooklyn, New York- July 22, 2004) was an American writer and literary theorist.