Reincarnation (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Reincarnation


author = Suzanne Weyn
country = United States
language = English
genre = Fantasy, Romantic novel
publisher = Scholastic Press
release_date = 1 January, 2008
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 304 pp
isbn = ISBN 978-054-501-323-9

"Reincarnation" is a 2008 fantasy novel by American author Suzanne Weyn. The novel was released on January 1, 2008. It tells the story of a two lovers who attempt to find each other through the centuries. The narrative follows the action through time. The individuals are followed throughout Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the American Civil War, Paris (Just prior to World War II), the 1960s in the United States, and finally as modern day teenagers.

Plot

Prehistory In the first setting of the story the female character is a Cro-Magnon (more developed caveman), and the male character is a Neanderthal, man a little behind Cro-Magnon in evolution, thus unable to capture the concept of speech. The female, May, is ready to get married soon, and will be linked to Lenar by her deity, the Great Mother. The male, Kye is hunting with his group. They meet each other near the cave that May visits when they spot a green rock. They struggle over the stone. May wanted it so that she could have her own ranking within her tribe, to be able to not marry an insensitive tribesman, Lenar, the first antagonist in the book. Kye wants it so that he may redeem himself within his tribe, for he had run away from a fight.

Future incarnations inherit May's singing and some struggle with ranking in social groups, and Kye's incarnations inherit aching head injury. The incarnations also happen to be different in ethnicity like May and Kye.

Egypt, 1280 B.C.E. The second setting is in ancient Egypt, in the setting of a wealthy nobleman. The female's name is Tetisheri, and she is the household "singer" and "dancer", the performer. The male of this setting is Taharaq, a captured Nubian archer, who has been dragged into slavery by Egyptians. Due to an injury during the fight he is mute, "unable to speak". He becomes a slave in the same household Tetisheri works and lives in. He was caught and given to the nobleman by Lenar's reincarnation, Ramose. Another antagonist is introduced as Nerfi, a household servant, and the woman who vies for Taharaq's affection, while Ramose for Tetisheri's. She is also the reason May's incarnations have horrible ankles.The green gem is reincarnated as an Eye of Horus pendant that Ramose gives to Tetisheri, as he wishes to marry her when he returnes from a military voyage. Tetisheri takes the gift from him.While Ramose is away Taharaq and Tetisheri realize their love for each other and Taharaq heals, able to speak again. Seeing them together angered Ramose, so he banished Taharaq. Taharaq visits Tetsheri and Nerfi later on in Nerfi's room and Ramose sees them and kills Nerfi and Taharaq and later, Tetisheri.

Tetisheri inherited her singing from her previous life, while Taharaq inherited his inability to speak, and a birthmark with terrible headaches (from Kye's injury).Further incarnations inherit Tetisheri's bad ankle that was injured when Nerfi dropped a jug of water on her right foot, and a knack for writing and reading and archery from Taharaq. Ramose's incarnations would inherit an aching jaw from when Taharaq punched Ramose.

InbetweenWhen one of the characters is on the wheel of rebirth, they meet Siddartha, later Bhudda. It is possible it was Kye who met him due to later interest in Bhuddism.

Athens, Greece, 399 B.C.E. The female is Hyacinth, a nobleman's privileged daughter, and the male is Artem, a "wild boy" orphan with an egyptian mother, living and wandering alone in the wilderness and has a drinking problem. Hyacinth meets Artem in the marketplace and cannot forget him. Hyacinth catches Artem hunting on her father's land later. She follows him to his camp and they meet and talk for a while. Artem has inherited his "passion for reading and writing" from a previous life, and offers to teach Hyacinth to read, as women were taught to do so then. The two keep meeting for their "reading lessons" but really they're falling n love, Hyacinth more so than Artem, at first.Artem, being a "skilled archer", is convinced to compete for Hyacinth's hand in marriage against Macar, Lenar and Ramose's incarnation. But when Macar catches the two together, and later beats up Artem, making him unable to go and compete for Hyacinth. Hyacinth is heartbroken, and by the time Artem is healed enough to go to her she has joined the temple of Athena, having become a priestess, under oath, unable to leave or to marry. Honouring her oath, Hyacinth refuses to run away with Artem, even though she wants to, and keeps the "emerald earrings" Artem gave her. Nerfi is now Iphigenia, another young priestess and she inherits her trademark red curls. She is insanely jealous of Hyacinth and Artem's love, and thinks negatively of Hyacinth turning him down, thinking she would run away with him in a heartbeat. She steals Hyacinth's earrings, and one night when Artem is serenading Hyacinth with his flute, as always, and she sees that Hyacinth is finally climbing down to join Artem. She then throws the earrings out the window. Artem thinks Hyacinth has thrown the earrings, and bumps into Hyacinth as they both go to retrieve them. But that makes them tumble down a rocky hill, and to Hyacinth's death.

InbetweenOne of the characters is now in Canaan, who went to the wedding Jesus gave wine too. It is evidenced it is Artem, for he complains he drinks in excess. Gwendolyn, who was Hyacinth, becomes part of an abbey and later is Mother Abbess Maria Regina. She dies and the next person who is speaking is Macar's incarnation, a captain who took slaves, a possible throwback of his treatment to Taharaq as an egyptian. Artem is then his first mate and later on adventure with Pizarro. There he meets Hyacinth, now Acana, in an Incan tribe and remarks on her knowledge of the arts and in general. It is revealed she died of the pox. Abby, once Iphigenia, is set sail for America where next story takes place.

Salem, Massachusetts, 1991 The female is Elizabeth May, the male is Brian, Antagonist #1 is Charles, and antagonist #2 is Abby. But Abby wants to get rid of Elizabeth May so that she can have Charles, her husband. Brian is never actually in the story, but rather a fond memory of Elizath May's. As it turns out, she knows the incarnation of old Seth, the man in Egypt who knew her. His incarnation is a Barbados woman who is odd to many and will die at the stake eventually. Elizabeth warns her then.To get Elizabeth May out of the picture Abby gets Charles thinking that she's having an affair, and shows him "peridot earrings" from Brian. When he shows Elizabeth May the earrings and refuses to give them back she attacks him. Abby brings in a lawman and accuses her of being a witch, pointing out Charles's scarred face, and just then a black cat jumps into Elizabeth May's arms. Due to May's death at fire, she now has a phobia for it.

InbetweenAbby is now dead, surpassing her husband as 80 years old. It is discovered that Brian had a daughter back home. By the way his daughter dies, it was Elizabeth May's incarnation for she histerically screams at a peat fire.

New York, "Now" Finally we're at the present. The female is Samantha Tyler. A typical senior high-schooler. The male is Jake Suarez, the new guy at school, and the guy who just won first place in the "archery" competition. He also "wrote" a screenplay that he thinks he made up, but really he's telling the story of him and Sam in the Salem lifetime. It's very emotional, because even though Sam doesn't know it she's being told that Brian (Jake) "had" come looking for Elizabeth May (herself) and was miserable for the rest of his life when he was too late.It's a short one, so all that happens with antagonists #1 and #2, Chris and Zoë, is that Sam breaks up with Chris, and Zoë had a crush on him and fully supported her friend in this decision.

The senior class is on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History. Sam and Jake just happen to be lost and alone, looking for everyone else, and bump into each other. they decide to walk to the "Hall of Emeralds" exhibit together. Jake tells about his screenplay got him a scholarship, and Sam tells him about she can't decide between "singing" or "dancing" for her college studies, and about how it's lucky she wore corrective shoes as a kid for her "bad ankle", otherwise she wouldn't be able to dance.

Being in the Hall of Emeralds is also mysteriously emotional for them, because there they see all of the Green Gems. Tetisheri's Eye of Horus pendant, Baby's (and Del's) emerald studded collar, one of the teardrop earrings, even though it wasn't real emerald, but peridot, and even the gem that May and Kye fought over, which also wasn't real emerald.

They finally admit the strong emotions for each other they miraculously feeling in the museum theatre. Nobody dies; they're "finally" together.

External links

* [http://www.scholastic.com/ Scholastic Books]