Critics' Corner

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What are the Tales

The Tales of Waterlily 

are a series of novels and short stories set in a magic realism mode. The era is the 1960s and 70s when the world was in turmoil and great happenings were a foot, especially in the suddenly powerful Hippie movement. Laughing through the absurdity and crying at the poignancy, the reader is swept from the deepest slums to the pinnacle of the rapidly expanding rock and roll scene; from Manhattan ghettos to Hudson River estates, from Manhattan riots to San Francisco via a burning Detroit. They're the Summer of Love and Haight Street, the Black Panthers and the exodus to the organic countryside. These are the tales of someone who lived it all and has recorded what she saw. They're love. They're all about magic. 

They're a bit twisted. 

    

The first Tale, the novel, The Black Madonna, takes place in Manhattan's Lower East Side and Greenwich Village in 1965. Our protagonist, Lily is forced to seek the help of a Voodoo Santero to save her son from a demonic presence. Becoming deeply involved in the formation of the hippies she falls in love with the singer of the hottest British rock band. The Voodoo god Shango insists she act as his conduit and immerse the singer in the power of the Mojo. But it's the Voodoo goddess, The Black Madonna, who convinces Lily that she and her generation must 

Save The World!

   The second novel, set in 1966-67, Vestal Virgins, tells the tale of Lily's year at Avalon, the psychedelic center of the universe and estate run by Dr. Ted Stewart, Magi of LSD. Run out of their former Ashram for taking LSD, the work crew and remaining devotees are invited to live at the beauteous Avalon. Not only is the estate populated with intellectuals from Ivy League colleges, it has Hindu gurus, temple dancers and musicians floating through its halls. And then there's those weird lights that appeared at the strangest moments and the sightings of unidentified flying objects that seem to want to communicate with those under the influence.

 Are they real?