The Illusion of Separateness
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| Author | Simon Van Booy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary fiction; historical fiction |
| Publisher | Harper (HarperCollins) |
Publication date | June 2013 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback), e-book |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-211224-8 |
The Illusion of Separateness is a 2013 novel by British-American author Simon Van Booy. Told through a mosaic of interlinked narratives set across the 20th and 21st centuries, the book explores how a single act of mercy during World War II reverberates through several lives. Critics noted its lyrical, elliptical style and the theme that human lives are intimately connected despite outward divisions.[1][2]
The novel unfolds through short, interwoven chapters following several characters—including a deformed German infantryman, a British film director, a young blind curator, two Jewish American newlyweds separated by war, and a caretaker in Santa Monica—whose stories slowly reveal an underlying chain of connection originating in wartime Europe.[3]
Themes
Reviewers highlighted recurring concerns with fate, memory, and compassion, as well as an explicit “we’re-all-connected” motif; several noted the title's resonance with Buddhist thought about interdependence.[1] Van Booy's spare prose and fragmentary structure are employed to suggest how small decisions ripple across time.[2]