'The Lady with the Monkey'

Quirky New Novel Explores One Man's Search for the Meaning of Life


In "The Lady with the Monkey" (now available through AuthorHouse), author William Lower enlightens readers with a story about losing faith and the universal search for the meaning of life, as seen through the antics and musings of L.A. scriptwriter Jim Weir. Chronicled around Weir's Oedipus-like love affair with a married woman, readers will track Weir's journey through the vast no-man's land between compromise and capitulation, finding him at a time when the only trail he is blazing is a path of self-destruction.

"The Lady with the Monkey" is set in the 1980s against the backdrop of two polar-opposite icons of culture: Los Angeles, the city of angels, and Cluny, France, a medieval center of culture and learning. The main character's unique reflections on American society in the 1980s are irreverent gems that often bear uncanny resemblance to the world today. "It's funny how politics can be fashionable. It was hip then to be a Democrat. Now it's cool to be a Republican. Everything sways like missiles blowing in a cool, nuclear breeze," Weir comments. On fear: "What have I been afraid of? What have any of us been afraid of? If we try to stand up for something what will happen? Will they take our boat away? If I follow my heart, will I lose my house on the hill? If we defend ourselves against terrorists, will it ruin my summer vacation?"

Lower's new book offers readers a quirky, entertaining, existentialist look at modern life which he hopes will appeal to readers on many levels. "It is the story of one man's search for meaning in the modern urban world, underscored by the vulnerability of having faith in nothing but oneself and one's achievements," he concludes.

Lower was born in Kingston, Ontario, and educated at Queen's University (English and behavioral psychology) and Ryerson University (film and photography). Throughout his career as an advertising creative director, Lower has lived and worked in Toronto, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. He has won numerous international awards for his work, including recognition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. While working at the J. Walter Thompson Agency in New York, Lower reported to author James Patterson (then Creative Director of the agency). Lower, who currently resides in Toronto, is a pilot, a student of history and the father of one child, his daughter Lorraine. "The Lady with the Monkey" is Lower's first book. (ERN)