Passing Clouds: Short Stories

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Synopsis

This is a book of strange short stories. They happen in peculiar universes, with eerie laws, to unusual characters... But they are not completely implausible. They are about what matters in our lives. They contemplate knowledge, will, beauty, culture, creativity, language... and identity. Obscure, and purposefully convoluted, as they sometimes are, the stories are connected by a visible thread. There are symbols everywhere, and each story has reflections of other stories and popular works of art/literature. The 10.5 Stories are about: A girl's inexplicable visions of beauty and an old man A people's language shaping what they build, and the concealed divine trick An amazing walk on the tightrope A prism of cyclical perspectives An adventurer's (brief?) exit from a magical and never-ending labyrinth An unexplained campaign of destruction and exile A young soul trying to escape an underground destiny A strange race's attempt to escape death... and their planet A reader's connection to a book he's reading... and to its author A seemingly extinct race coming back to life... through their ideas A fool's short trip More specifically: Synaesthesia (Short Story #1) points to the dilemma creative people face as their daemons haunt them, shatter their stability, compelling them to go to desolate and unexplored places. Enki's Seeds (Short Story #2) is about the similarities and differences of the world... The tension in cultures, as they bring people together and apart... leading to the creation of divine beauty! The Path of Hearts (Short Story #3) is about the hand of destiny, love, and risk. It is about the divine grace that blesses creators and survivors. Vantage Point (Short Story #4) is a fusion of small stories that form an infinite loop... Just like us as we observe ourselves, and lose the observer in the process (Who's looking?). The Choice Contraction (Short Story #5) is about the mazes of our choices. It is about the amazing prisons we willingly lock ourselves into, believing that it is a matter of free choice. Displacement (Short Story #6) is a story about the balance of creativity (newness) and stability. What should happen if people get too comfortable... and they stop changing and growing? The Borders of the Cave (Short Story #7) tells the story of a soul eager to leave the underground... Eager to transform into a vision and a blessing, even as the burden of responsibility keeps it bound to its people. Extension (Short Story #8) is about a world (and a people) reaching out to the universe... looking for immortality away from a place that has exhausted its old purpose. Âliph – Uau (Short Story #9) is about the relationship between writers and readers. Who brings all these created worlds to life? Does the writer write the story, or does it write him? Passing Clouds (Short Story #10) chronicles the rise and demise of Loglan: a civilization with a perfectly clear language, and with a culture built on reason and science. The problem is that it carries a rebellious magical seed. East of the Desert (Short Story #11) is not a story in the sense of the word. It is a reflection on the other stories, and on the beautiful multiplicity and potential that inhabit the world. The book has 22 colorful and dreamy images with meanings and symbols reflected in the stories, and all have been generated by AI. A hint on the hints: The stories were originally written in Arabic, so this might help with some of the hints and hidden characters and references.

Is Passing Clouds: Short Stories appropriate for my child?

Suitable for most readers 13 and up.

This experimental short story collection explores philosophical themes like creativity, identity, and destiny through surreal, interconnected tales. Contains symbolic imagery and abstract concepts; mild peril but no graphic content.

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