The i Tetralogy
Mathias B. Freese
Paperback, 6x9 in, 378 pages
Hats Off Books, June 2005
ISBN: 1587364042
Description
"Beautifully conceived and written -- filled with insights. It speaks of the humanity that emerges out of despair."
Marianne Kador, ACSW, Psychotherapist
The i Tetralogy—i, I Am Gunther, Gunther's Lament, Gunther Redux—is the gut-wrenching epic depiction of the dehumanization of man through an incisive observation of three pivotal characters. Each of them, victim, perpetrator, and murderer's son, is inextricably linked by the varying dimensions of their moral nature. Assaying the monumental impact of the Holocaust, this species-shattering event, the tetralogy elucidates a truth about humanity: the Holocaust has forever defined the species as indelibly damaged, capable on a molecular level of killing and consuming its own. The reader experiences this unvarnished—perhaps axiomatic—truth about humanity, which no revisionist can deny. The reader also ponders the risk in forgetting, in sanitizing, in "sweetening" the Holocaust.
About the Author
Teacher and psychotherapist Mathias B. Freese holds masters degrees in secondary education and social work from Queens College of the City University of New York and Stony Brook University. His short fiction has appeared in Jewish Currents, Pig Iron Press, and Skywriters, among other magazines. His nonfiction articles have appeared in the New York Times, Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy, and Publishers Marketing Association Newsletter. In 2005, the Society of Southwestern Authors honored him with a first-place award for personal essay/memoir.
Endorsements
"The unrelenting power of Freese's writing calls to mind the gritty horror and hopelessness of Erich Maria Remarque's World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front. and the grim insanity of Dalton Trumbo’s story about a wounded soldier in Johnny Got His Gun. Equally stark and eloquent, The i Tetralogy is written in the first person with a substantial amount of internal monologue. Both precise and beautiful, the prose cuts like a knife. . . ."
Malcolm Campbell, Author, Podbram
"More than half a century after the end of World War II, when hundreds of books have been written and movies made about the horrors of the Holocaust, why should you read The i Tetralogy, a book that delves into the psychologically crippling world of the concentration camp? Because you have never read anything like this."
Alyce Wilson, Editor, Wild Violet
"Exceptionally disturbing and disquieting . . . The perspective is unique, the power of imagination staggering."
Mahin Hassibi, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York Medical College
"The i Tetralogy is an important, well-written, intense, and compelling addition to the collection of Shoah-centric works."
David Herrle, Editor, Subtle Tea
"Author Mathias B. Freese is not only a brilliant literary genius; he has the uncanny ability to explore the depths of madness like no other . . . Educators would find it a profound and in-depth study of the workings of the human psyche as well as sociological influences on human behavior. . ."
2007 Allbooks Review Editor’s Choice Award. Shirley Roe, Allbooks Review
