The novel Quantum Cannibals has a large cast of characters, some evil, some saintly.  Most are complex, neither black nor white.  A person can be a good character, but simply confused when facing an impossible situation.  All of the characters in the book are intended to reflect back on our non-fictional world, to say something about how we can respond to both the impossible and the ordinary.

Many of the characters were inspired by real-world people or other fictional characters.  Nonetheless, Quantum Cannibals is a work of fiction.  Names and characters are products of my imagination and are not to be construed as real.

I will write a series of “Good Character” posts, introducing people from the novel: who was their inspiration, and what is their relevance today.  Some of the people (and their inspiration) you will meet are:

• Eric (Eric Cartman, from TV show South Park)
• Alex (poet Allen Ginsberg)
• Simon (the Rabbinic sage and mystic Simon bar Yochai)
• Lillith (Lillith)
• Asenath (Asenath Barzani, a 16^th century religious academy leader in Kurdistan)
• Mustafa (Ottoman general, Siege of Famagusta (Cyprus), 1570-71)

  

• Aua (early 20^th Inuk (Eskimo) shaman)
• Taiku (the Talmudic concept of a question that cannot yet be answered)

Some people say I’m too didactic, always finding a lesson in something.  Others say I’m always making jokes out of everything.  I hope when you read the “Good Character” posts that follow, they inspire you to reflect, and inspire you to laugh.

Oh, yeah, and inspire you to buy and read the novel.

Click here to read the post about Alex/Ginsberg/Cuties, and romanticizing kiddie porn

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