RAVEL

ravel: v.t. 1. to disentangle or unravel the threads or fibers of (a woven or knitted fabric, rope, etc.). 2. to tangle or entangle. 3. to involve; confuse; perplex. 4. to make clear; unravel (often fol. by out).

The word ravel, a contronym with two opposite or contradictory meanings, well reflects the tension that exists in this unique book between chaos and order, disintegration and wholeness, destruction and creativity. The book’s starting point as well as its center of gravity is the suicide, more than forty years ago now, of the author’s beloved father, with all its shattering consequences. But in between his father’s story, which he tells with the help of his grandmother’s diaries, Graber skillfully weaves the tragic and triumphant stories of many, many others—philosophers, writers, composers, artists, builders, athletes, explorers, statesmen, kings and queens—creating a tapestry of voices he uses to probe such topics as loss and grief, the problem of evil, truth and art, memory and forgetfulness, fate and free will, and the cathartic power of writing. Thoughtful and compelling, Ravel looks to unravel mysteries by following the slender threads that connect us all, and emerges with a message of hope and life, resounding and breathtaking.