Synopsis

In the novel, The Separation of Being, Amrit, a savant, is a young man on the run from forces that seek his ruin. He has lived a life burnishing his intellect as a scientist and a theoretical physicist. He had worked tirelessly for the regime, for ‘the cause’ and should have been lionised for his success, for his ground-breaking discovery, but instead finds himself set upon by the dogs of war, grey men in grey suits. It seems someone in power wants him out of the way. He cannot understand this bizarre twist of fate, and the regime’s many tentacles have now tracked him to the last place on Earth he thought they would find him, in the most remote capital city in the world.
Having nowhere else to run, he seeks out Thea, his only friend and she reluctantly agrees to take him to a meditation retreat she happens to be attending later that day. He finds himself seeking refuge in a Buddhist monastery and in the throes of the deepest of meditative experiences that enlivens his mind and captivates his senses, and immersed in his feelings for Thea that only intensify during his ordeal, he finds what his heart seeks, truth.
The novel, described as a philosophical discussion on the mind as we have not seen since Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, discusses the world of quantum consciousness and its nexus with Buddhist philosophy. The Separation of Being is a quest for meaning and for anyone seeking answers to the biggest of life’s questions in a hard-science based suspension of disbelief. It is a contribution to our body of knowledge on consciousness and an enlightening tale of the human condition.

Sales arguments

• The idea with this campaign is to create an audio book - targeted at a New Adult audience.
• Audiobooks are of the fastest growing formats, with a massive 28.8% growth from 2016 to 2017.
• Younger people seem to be driving this market. 48% of listeners are under the age of 35 and 29% of listeners are using their smartphone to play the books.
• The book is a quest for meaning - embodying the eternal longing of its target audience.
• The book throws in a metaphysical resolution of the double slit experiment - it has been claimed that, 'if anyone could explain the double slit experiment there's a Nobel Prize for you.' ~ Professor Jim Al-Khalili

Similar titles

• Origin, Dan Brown - the book promises answers to two of life's most important questions: "Where did we come from?" and "Where are we going?" but is a pithy thriller with little else to offer in terms of philosophical enlightenment. Iniquity and The Separation of Being discusses philosophical accounts of objective reality and offers a metaphysical model of consciousness. It is a problem novel, offering real answers to life's most important questions and a personal journey of discovery for the reader.
• Sophie's World - One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another g
• Zen and The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig - Pirsig is capable of seeing the beauty of technology and feels good about mechanical work, where the goal is "to achieve an inner peace of mind". The book demonstrates that motorcycle maintenance may be dull and tedious drudgery or an enjoyable and pleasurable pastime; it all depends on attitude. Iniquity and the Separation of Being in a similar way demonstrates that life has innate meaning. Amrit discovers through meditative contemplation that t

Audience

New Adult - readers between the ages of 18 and 30, or students of meaning in life.