THE THEORY OF THE SOFA

A Novel by Jess Shapiro

In the summer of 1969 the world was not just spinning around, it was turning upside down.

THE THEORY OF THE SOFA presents three very different perspectives of this seminal period in American history.  As the main characters navigate the turbulent times, their separate coming- of-age paths cross and diverge, and a slow- burning plot grows into a full-blown inferno.

Lenny is on his way to an MBA, but instead hops on an old school bus heading to a commune in Mendocino.  Jean was raised on a New Hampshire farm, and has dreams that are derailed by his father’s untimely death.  The two men unwittingly become embroiled in Steven’s mafia activities, a world they know nothing about.

This plays out against the backdrop of a world in flux.  There were protests, assassinations, men on the moon, nuclear saber- rattling, war, peace, drugs and love, all clearly defined by the music we heard and sang, gospel that half a century later still elicits exuberant sing-alongs.