“A man always wonders about the purpose of his life.”
That is the first line of Thomas Duffy’s novel Heavenly, and it conveys a primary theme that carries throughout the book and weighs on its protagonist (or should I say protagonists!).
We are introduced to 43-year-old John Robinson, an ordinary New Yorker living an ordinary life and not much to show except his mundane job and his lonely existence. As he struggles to find himself and a happy life, he becomes an innocent victim of a subway shooting and is suddenly transported through a bright, fast-moving tunnel which he believes is the afterlife. In the process, John realizes his life never lived up to what he had hoped for.
It’s nothing new for visions of Heaven to be portrayed in film and literature, and Duffy takes his shot: “God came onto the stage. A heavenly, seemingly middle-aged figure in a long white robe with greyish brown hair, God didn’t say anything” but positioned himself to shake hands with all of the new arrivals.
NOT HEAVEN, JUST THE WAITING ROOM
This setting, as it turns out, wasn’t exactly Heaven but more of a holding space where John’s life would be reviewed and evaluated before a determination would be made for his next stop. Anyone remember the Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life? The review gets off to a shaky start as Andrea, his “officer,” says, “You’re a middle-aged man with no close family, few friends, and you have never truly sacrificed anything to anyone.”
As it turns out, Andrea and God give John a second chance and return him to Earth in a different body, that of Peter, a young boy that they pray will find the substance in his life that John never could.
While younger Peter offers more hope than the elder John, he too struggles through life, mainly to find a gratifying career path and meet a girl with whom to have a meaningful, lasting relationship. His exploits take him from one administrative position to another, sometimes eying a potential woman of interest although nothing ever comes of it. His search moves everywhere from church groups to online dating sites to social media pages to ladies of the evening.
EVEN A SECOND SHOT AT LIFE HAS OBSTACLES
Throughout the book, Peter maintains a strong faith in God, which is validated by the many dreams in which God appears to pass along messages. While they give Peter direction and encouragement, his battles still must be won on his own, on the planet that has pained him.
Eventually, it appears that Peter might find his way — but the path he pursues is fraught with obstacles.
Back to the literary device of the afterlife, the book flashes back to God and Andrea looking down on Peter, discussing his plight and almost rooting for him to succeed.
How will things turn out? God only knows.
Visit Thomas Duffy’s author profile page here.
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About Thomas Duffy:
Thomas Duffy is a New York-based writer who has authored nine fiction novels, including 2016’s 9/11-themed To Never Know. He finds stories of day-to-day challenges fascinating and intriguing. Duffy has written about different topics such as working in retail, mental illness, romance, and existentialism. Duffy also has an interest in film criticism and has interviewed several celebrities from the silver screen, including Minnie Driver and Richard Dreyfuss.
