Confessions of a Hapless Hedonist

"Confessions of a Hapless Hedonist" is a lighthearted, firsthand account by an unwitting victim of the seductive perils of our time. Ranging over a century of intimate foibles and world events, it is the true story of an outlandish family forced to abandon a life of wealth and privilege in Czechoslovakia after World War II, and start anew in the United States. Within the framework of this transition played out on both sides of the Atlantic is the drama of the narrator's devotion to the unbridled pursuit of pleasure - and his wrenching discovery of a more subtle but no less compelling imperative. "Confessions of a Hapless Hedonist" sparkles with the colorful characters of the narrator's relatives: his father, transformed by his adopted country from Mr. Count to a salesman of Exercycles; his sister Manya, a proselytizing charismatic Christian married to a hotelier on Cape Cod; his aunt Issten, exiled years ago to a penurious existence in a dilapidated chateau in France after engaging in an extra-marital affair with a noted African-American to create a more compassionate world; Albrecht, Issten's long-suffering son laboring quixotically in his privileged retreat in the Austrian Tyrol to save humanity from its excesses; and Princess Stephanie, Albrecht's enchanting daughter whose relentless quest for romantic love leaves even her unconventional grandmother, Issten, aghast. There is also God, whether in the guise of the stern but just Yahweh of Abraham or Manya's gentle, ever-forgiving Jesus Christ, while Allah makes an appearance as the micromanager of his devotees' destiny. The unabashed abandon of the book's first part, "In Quest of Pleasure", and the emotional immediacy of the second part, "In Quest of Redemption", combine to reflect the mounting clash between the unconstrained desires of our materialistic civilization and the reactive dictates of fundamentalism. Whether set in a burgundy-red studio on Manhattan's Upper East Side or at an ocean-side cottage in Laguna Beach, "Confessions of a Hapless Hedonist" carries an unmistakable message for those striving to maximize their pleasures in life. The restitution of the family's properties and privileged life in post-Communist Czech Republic provides yet another dimension to this work -- as well as an ironic, though not entirely unexpected twist.