The Dance and the Diamond Sky — Gary Marks (Novel)

A novel set in America in the late-1960s — a time of political division, corruption, war, and social upheaval — an America that came to the same crossroads we face today.

Synopsis:

The Dance and the Diamond Sky: A novel set in the late 60s, echoing the chaos of Trump’s America

Author: Gary Marks

Set during the social upheaval of the late 1960s, The Dance and the Diamond Sky follows Jackie Rose, a college dropout, aspiring songwriter, and committed pacifist trying to survive in a country tearing itself apart.

As Jackie pursues a music career, his inner life is shaped by three people: Sherry, his first love and moral anchor; Jan, whose expansive vision of love challenges conventional ideas about jealousy and possession; and Lee, a brilliant Columbia history graduate who believes nonviolence has never worked, and never will.

When Lee becomes increasingly involved in direct action against the Vietnam War, Jackie finds himself caught between competing ideas about love, freedom, conscience, and political responsibility.

At the same time, his relationships with Sherry and Jan become more painful and complicated, his music begins to find an audience.

Then Lee comes back into his life to say goodbye. He is being pursued by the authorities and knows he'll be caught soon. With the country growing more polarized by the day, Jackie is forced to confront a question that can no longer remain theoretical: What does it mean to act according to one's convictions when every available choice carries a cost?

Part love story, part coming-of-age novel, and part exploration of political conscience, The Dance and the Diamond Sky is about the struggle to remain fully committed to your own beliefs about love, personal freedom, and democracy itself in a nation increasingly organized around fear, ideology, and corruption.

REVIEWS