Cal Poly English professor John Hampsey is inviting readers into an existential and mysterious journey with his new novel, Soda Lake. On Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Hamsey will host a free public reading of his book in Phillips Hall, blending his philosophy and storytelling.
Reflecting on his creative process, Hampsey said the nature of his artistic expression is grounded in more than 40 years of teaching British romanticism, classical Greece and the existential tradition in the English department.
“To make art that’s really worth it, you have to be a little bit crazy,” Hampsey said. “To follow some artistic, visionary journey, you risk your health, your safety and your commitment, your contentment and security.”
For Hampsey, writing is more than a profession; it is a profound exploration of human experience and consciousness.
This philosophy is deeply embedded in Soda Lake, a novel that challenges readers’ expectations and invites them into a complex narrative landscape where identity becomes fluid and mysterious. Soda Lake stands as a testament to his commitment to exploring the deeper, often unseen dimensions of human consciousness, allowing readers to go on this transformative journey of a novel.
Hampsey has written other books, such as Paranoia and Contentment: A Personal Essay on Western Thought and Kaufman’s Hill. He claims that the two books are written very differently from his most recent Soda Lake; however, there is an underlying connection between them all.
“I think the Twilight sense is in Kaufman’s Hill and I think the idea of a dangerous creative journey from paranormal contentment is in my other novel. So, I think that it connects to my most recent novel,” Hampsey said.
According to Hampsey’s website, Soda Lake follows a narrator on his journey to understand what happened after he watches a man disappear into a white lake. Along the way, he meets different people whose lives are all connected and are all struggling with questions about who they are.
As the narrator of Soda Lake progresses on his journey, the character begins to question his own identity. The narrator gradually loses his sense of self as he moves closer to understanding a mysterious, hypothetical figure named McCuade.
“McCuade is a kind of personalized God,” Hamsey said to describe his main character. “He’s older, probably going to piss off the Jews and the Christians, but he’s older than Yahweh. He’s older than Jesus, because this whole idea of a God goes way, way back, and he’s kind of a trickster.”
The novel’s chapters take place in various locations, like California, Chicago, or Ireland, and focus on someone’s inner conflict as the idea of McCuade starts to feel more powerful than the characters themselves. Based on Hampsey’s subconscious, the novel explores how people try to understand themselves in a world that is constantly changing through a blend of mystery, psychology and surreal moments.
Hampsey began writing Soda Lake in 2012. During his 2013 sabbatical, he traveled to Donegal, Ireland, to research locations for the character, interviewing locals about McCuade, a character who doesn’t actually exist. He concluded this third novel in 2020, right at the start of the pandemic.
Soda Lake is set to be released on October 21. The pre-release reading on Oct.17 will be the first stop on Hampsey’s book tour. Tickets and tour date information can be found here.
