Glorious in scope, The Last Paradise follows the downtrodden and oppressed people of Galveston, Texas, through trials of injustice and bigotry in post-Civil War America. Novelist Michael Kasenow artfully weaves a tapestry of vivid and historic detail in this inspiring story of strength and survival.
During the beginning of the twentieth century, the alley people in Galveston band together against racism, prejudice, and poverty hidden within the hypocrisy of civic and corporate corruption. Men and women such as Fanny, Maxwell, Newt, Bishop, Elma, the prostitutes and nuns of St. Mary’s, and the puckish poor who hang out at Bleach’s Tavern journey through self-discovery in their attempt to find their places in the changing landscape of a modernizing world.
The men and women of the alley refuse to capitulate to the rich and privileged, drawing instead upon their inner strength and character instilled by their upbringing in frontier America, with its brand of retributive justice that allows them to overcome what is imposed—to be the free men and women demanded by their courageous spirits, even in the midst of turmoil.
Rich with stunning depictions of turn-of-the century Galveston and the devastation wrought by the Great Hurricane of 1900, the Last Paradise illuminates resilience and fortitude of the great city itself, brought about by the same strengths held by its common citizens. Humorous, evocative, and sobering, this breathtaking novel is an adventure that encompasses the human soul.
fiction
About Me
Michael Kasenow is a survivor of an abusive and brutal childhood. Embarrassed as an adolescent because he couldn't read or write, it was in the eighth grade when he would “slip away from his friends” into the middle school library to read poetry.
“I couldn't read very well back then; therefore, I couldn't write very well. The best way to learn how to read, when your attention span is short and every word is long, is to read short poems. The first poem I read was by John Keats, ‘Ode to Death.’ A very simple and short piece, eight lines maybe, but long enough for someone who's nearly illiterate. I simply read short poems and progressed to longer pieces over time. By reading poetry one learns how to read, write and dream.”
He left home early and dropped out of college in his first year, at 19, due to failing grades and the infectious world of drugs. “I was drifting with the lost generation at the time. My friends were going to prison or being shot or were committing suicide. I had to leave that world behind or perish.”
This part of his life is reflected in the poem ‘My Friends Are On Heroin’, which can be read in Six Feet Down. A collection of poems that can be downloaded from this website for free.
He began to travel across America—“patching up wounds, learning through experience.” He worked a series of odd jobs from Michigan to Texas to New Mexico: cab driver, bartender, lumberman, janitor, butcher, and rancher, to name a few. “Living among a variety of unique personalities—the enchanted, the mystical—vagabonds, drifters and an occasional thief.” These experiences add a level of authenticity to his written work. In the early 1980s he taught himself mathematics.
“I was told in high school that I had no math or scientific ability. I couldn't even solve simple fractions back then. Later in life I became interested in science, so if I was going to be serious about it, I had to learn math.”
He earned his BS in Geology from Eastern Michigan University in 1986 and eventually obtained an MS and a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University. He has taught geology and hydrogeology at EMU since 1989. His publications include 14 books on the subject of groundwater analysis, and he has over fifty publications that include books, monographs and software. Most of his scientific work has been published by Water Resources Publications, out of Colorado. He has established himself as an innovator in the field of groundwater analysis, developing over fifty pragmatic equations. “Not bad for someone with no math or science ability.”
He's been writing literature since the 10th grade.
“I’ve been influenced by everyone I’ve read, including Steinbeck, O’Neill, Fitzgerald, Maugham, Sandburg, McCarthy, Robinson, Yeats, Chopra, Shreve, Levertov, the Beat poets, Kerouac,—and the music of many—Dylan, McKennitt, McCaslin, Catie Curtis, William Morrissey, Townes Van Zandt, Greg Brown, Dave Carter, Lucinda Williams, Connie Dover, and the legendary Celtic poets and balladeers—and a hell-u-va lot more that would fill pages.
He’s working on another novel, more poems and “science stuff”.
He travels to learn and lives in Michigan. “I’m enjoying watching my son grow. He’s a special wild flower.”
Testimonials
Wonderful characters! Lest you get the idea that this is a depressing novel about a wretched underclass, let me assure you nothing could be farther from the truth. Kasenow's cast of characters is one of the most endearing motley crews I've had the pleasure of joining since John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flats! Evocative writing… I highly recommend The Last Paradise.
Reviewed by Kelly Davis for Bookideas (3/12/09)
A Great Read! Kasenow has certainly done his homework in recreating the flavor of Galveston at the turn of the last century as he blends vivid and harsh descriptions with social, political and economic commentary that is caught up in a hideous and haunting tangle of racism. His knack in revealing off-the-wall characters in small gestures and poignant dialogue adds to their authenticity as we witness them being caught up in a range of situations, some not exactly lawful, that come together into a tightly knitted story. He even manages to throw in a bit of romance and sly humor providing the reader with a change of pace and a kind of relaxed center from the various mad events spinning around in the novel. You want to keep reading… Reviewed by Norman Goldman for Bookpleasures (3/12/09)
"Michael Kasenow resourcefully tracks the plight of the oppressed and exploited “alley people” of Galveston, Texas in the post Civil War era....Kasenow writes with such realism I felt the shame and humiliation of Bishop and his family as they were intimidated and harassed brutally before their friends by representatives of the law. In his account of the after effects of the Great Hurricane of 1900, Kasenow engaged the reader in all five senses: the stench of fear and death, the tenderness of touch in providing comfort, and the seeing of loved ones – thought dead. I felt the cooling water on a parched throat, heard the thrashing of hurricane force winds, and was left with the haunting memory of devastation left behind after the storm." Richard R. Blake for ReaderViews.com
Share this profile
Facebook
del.icio.us
Digg
Windows Live
Stumbleupon
Furl
Blinklist
G Bookmarks
Diigo
MySpace
Twitter
Xanga
Bebo
Twine
Blogmarks
Faves
AIM
Technorati
LinkedIn
Y! Bokmarks
Newsvine
