Deciding mid-career to abandon his “static existence” as a moderately successful cult author, Robert Sander decides to leave his few friends, former lovers, indifferent literary agent and his apartment in downtown Manhattan to make a new start. Thus Sander launches on an existential journey that takes him to the South of France, Positano, Italy, and Sydney, Australia. Several years earlier, he fell in love with the beautiful, doe-eyed Milancia only to lose track of her after one night of erotic bliss. Yearning to reconnect with what he believes to be the woman of his dreams, Sander indulges his taste for fine wines, luxury hotels and exotic cars. meeting several tempting women along the way, and even encounters an exposé involving the illegal transportation of nuclear materials across international borders.
Part romantic love story, part witty social commentary, "Clouds Passing" is a meditation on the struggle to establish one’s true identity, find love, and discover meaning in a world that defies easy access to human intimacy and purpose. In clean spare language, Mantler vividly explores what it means to live well - physically as well as metaphysically. Reminiscent of the novels of Paul Auster, William Boyd or Ian McEwan, "Clouds Passing" teaches us what it means to be human in the modern world.
