The Calm Flashes of the Mind: A Novel (ePub)

The mechanism in which asignificant images arise—those images that suddenly appear in one’s mind, with no direct connection to the present moment—is the field being researched by Marcel, a neuroscience researcher and staunch rationalist who lives and works in a Zurich influenced by Jungian psychology. This is where he meets Anna, a musician, with whom he finally appears to have a vibrant and fulfilling relationship. Before long, however, Anna and her world—music, art, Buddhist meditation—begin to insinuate doubts in Marcel’s mind on the validity of his rationalistic theories on mental processes. His restlessness increases when a particular asignificant image presents itself in his mind, reappearing incessantly: the face of a dark-haired, beautiful Latin woman, whom he recognizes to be that of a girl he met in Mexico 25 years ago—a love story that never began, due to adverse fortuitous circumstances. Is this mysterious Mexican woman, whom he met by chance in Zurich, really that same girl he was in love with 25 years ago? Instinctively, without understanding the reasons behind his impulse, Marcel decides to leave for Mexico in search of that unlived romance, with the risk of losing everything he has. An absurd journey that leads him, however, to discover himself, reconstructing parts of his identity that had been lost—perhaps his son. Will he find the Mexican woman or will he find himself instead, and Anna?Pier Luigi Luisi is Emeritus Professor at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) where he has taught for 30 years before being appointed Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Roma TRE. As Professor of Chemistry at ETHZ he initiated the interdisciplinary project “Cortona Week”. His main research interests lie in the experimental, theoretical, and philosophical fields related to the origin of life and the self-organization of natural and synthetic systems.