Anima (novel)
Encyclopedia
Anima is a novel written by Marie Buchanan
. It is in the mystery
or suspense
genre, and was first published in the UK
under the title Greenshards by Fawcett Crest
in 1972.
It is 223 pages long, and consists of two roughly equal halves, titled first Olive on page 1, and then Megan on page 127. The division of the book into two halves is for a stylistic change of perspective or vantage point. While Olive was crippled from a car crash, Megan is a gorgeous actress. One of the issues is whether beauty is only skin deep, and whether the intellect, taken separately and by itself, is or can be a source of attraction. Similarly, whether beautiful people can transmigrate to beautiful bodies if they are trapped in bodies unsuitable to them. Finally, there is the issueof whether car crashes can be induced psychically, or if they depend purely on chance.
for audition
s and tryouts. Olive, on the other hand, is not particularly photogenic
, and worries about remaining single for the rest of her life; she lost her father some years ago to suicide
, and as the years have gone on, she now has arthritis
and a stooped or crooked back, deformed as a result of a life threatening car accident prior to puberty.
Nextdoor to Olive, a man and woman have moved into the building she used to live in, back when her father was alive. There is something suspicious about the new couple because the woman looks unusually young for her age, and has possibly stopped aging. When compared against photographs from years ago, the woman remains the same, but her husband has become much older. The differences are striking.
Megan believes that the man had done away with his first wife, and replaced her with a new one. Megan sets out to prove there has been a replacement of some kind, quite possibly involving murder on the one hand, and immigration fraud on the other. The wife is described as having waxen features, pale and white.
But since they moved in, Olive has become quite fond of the strange couple nextdoor. Although they generally keep to themselves, they threw a party in the summer, and convened a seance
in a darkened room for the purpose of reaching out to the afterworld
. The curtains were drawn and the room was black. After the seance was over, everybody said that Olive had spoken with the voice of a young child, commenting to her dad about a small bird that had died. What no one knew at the party, was that Olive's nickname was Livy - the name that was called out in the middle of the seance.
with a glass chip in it. The wind blows through a tiny hole in the chip, and sometimes she puts her finger on it, and feels the wind. Hours pass by, sitting there and feeling the wind, and forgetting the time. Eventually, she forgets who she is, and another presence takes her place. Does this happen to anyone else that goes up there, and sits there, or is it connected to the seances she has been attending? Simultaneously, the beautiful but fragile-appearing woman nextdoor, previously a gifted medium
, has grown more and more withdrawn, apparently lost in a deep and incurable catatonic trance
.
(1970) by J. T. McIntosh
Doctor Strange
, a comic book series involving out-of-body experiences by the lead character, a doctor who is unable to practice his trade any more
Out-of-body experience
Spiritualism
Seance
List of science fiction novels
Eileen-Marie Duell Buchanan
Eileen-Marie Duell Buchanan was a British author who specializedin writing literature belonging to the mystery, suspense, or detective genre. She wrote under a number of pseudonyms, including Clare Curzon, Marie Duell and Rhona Petrie...
. It is in the mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
or suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
genre, and was first published in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the title Greenshards by Fawcett Crest
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...
in 1972.
It is 223 pages long, and consists of two roughly equal halves, titled first Olive on page 1, and then Megan on page 127. The division of the book into two halves is for a stylistic change of perspective or vantage point. While Olive was crippled from a car crash, Megan is a gorgeous actress. One of the issues is whether beauty is only skin deep, and whether the intellect, taken separately and by itself, is or can be a source of attraction. Similarly, whether beautiful people can transmigrate to beautiful bodies if they are trapped in bodies unsuitable to them. Finally, there is the issueof whether car crashes can be induced psychically, or if they depend purely on chance.
Plot
Megan hopes to be an actress, and goes to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
s and tryouts. Olive, on the other hand, is not particularly photogenic
Photogenic
A subject is photogenic if appearing aesthetically or physically attractive or appealing in photographs. Photogenic drawing, coined by William Fox Talbot, also describes the earliest method for recording camera images....
, and worries about remaining single for the rest of her life; she lost her father some years ago to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, and as the years have gone on, she now has arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
and a stooped or crooked back, deformed as a result of a life threatening car accident prior to puberty.
Nextdoor to Olive, a man and woman have moved into the building she used to live in, back when her father was alive. There is something suspicious about the new couple because the woman looks unusually young for her age, and has possibly stopped aging. When compared against photographs from years ago, the woman remains the same, but her husband has become much older. The differences are striking.
Megan believes that the man had done away with his first wife, and replaced her with a new one. Megan sets out to prove there has been a replacement of some kind, quite possibly involving murder on the one hand, and immigration fraud on the other. The wife is described as having waxen features, pale and white.
But since they moved in, Olive has become quite fond of the strange couple nextdoor. Although they generally keep to themselves, they threw a party in the summer, and convened a seance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
in a darkened room for the purpose of reaching out to the afterworld
Afterworld
Afterworld may refer to:* Afterworld, a collectible card game from Score Entertainment* "Afterworld", a song on Tiger Army's 2007 album Music from Regions Beyond* "Afterworld" , a song by the alternative metal band CKY...
. The curtains were drawn and the room was black. After the seance was over, everybody said that Olive had spoken with the voice of a young child, commenting to her dad about a small bird that had died. What no one knew at the party, was that Olive's nickname was Livy - the name that was called out in the middle of the seance.
Plot Twist
Olive keeps returning to an upstairs windowWindow
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
with a glass chip in it. The wind blows through a tiny hole in the chip, and sometimes she puts her finger on it, and feels the wind. Hours pass by, sitting there and feeling the wind, and forgetting the time. Eventually, she forgets who she is, and another presence takes her place. Does this happen to anyone else that goes up there, and sits there, or is it connected to the seances she has been attending? Simultaneously, the beautiful but fragile-appearing woman nextdoor, previously a gifted medium
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
, has grown more and more withdrawn, apparently lost in a deep and incurable catatonic trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
.
Change of Perspective
The first half of the novel revolves around Olive, while the second half switches to a series of love letters sent by Megan to her boyfriend. In the middle of this correspondence, Megan discovers a bundle of papers that appear to be Olive's diary. Diaries often have very personal details, and on the basis of this diary, Megan is shocked to discover that Olive conceived a son when she was 13 with her own brother; the son was born mongoloid and was sent to a home for the care of mentally disabled children. Reeling with shock or consternation, she slams her fist through the window Olive used to sit in front of.See also
Transmigration (novel)Transmigration (novel)
Transmigration is a science fiction book written in 1970 by J. T. McIntosh.The hero discovers he is both cursed with bad luck and blessed with a miraculous power - the power to occupy other people's minds - provided he dies first...
(1970) by J. T. McIntosh
J. T. McIntosh
J. T. McIntosh was a pseudonym used by Scottish writer and journalist James Murdoch MacGregor.-Biography:Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, but living largely in Aberdeen, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym as well as "H. J...
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, a comic book series involving out-of-body experiences by the lead character, a doctor who is unable to practice his trade any more
Out-of-body experience
Out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and, in some cases, perceiving one's physical body from a place outside one's body ....
Spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
Seance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
List of science fiction novels