Author: Thomas Kaplan-Maxfield
Publisher: Kepler Press
ISBN: 0-9713770-3-0

The following review was contributed by: Emily Veinglory

Publicity material from Kepler Press described this book as 'chick
lit. written by a man' but nothing could be further from the truth.
Chick lit (much as I love it) is 'lite' entertainment and 'Memoirs of
a Shape-Shifter' is a dense, dark and complex story.  Put aside time
to read it in a quiet room with your full concentration.  This book
reminded me that reading can, perhaps should, be an active act of
interrogation.

The story is about Nikki Helmik, a disillusioned woman returning to
the house she was raised in.  Haunted by the recent death of her
abusive father and a married man she loved, Nikki quits her job and
launches into a new affair whilst still groping to free herself from
her troubled past.  We are quickly plunged into layers of
relationships with the mentors and lovers of Nikki's youth, a new man
in her life, visiting friends, family, the journal of an ancestor, new
friends and mentors, and ghosts….  The story takes a twisted and
decidedly gothic path through tangled pasts and current mysteries to a
suitably subdued epiphany at the end.  Nikki pulls the parts of her
life together into a spiritual whole, making peace with all the dark
secrets that lead to her current place in life.

'Memoirs' uses an interesting Druidic mythos at the heart of the story
to provide Nikki with the insights and personal development that she
desperately needs.  These deep and magical themes are echoed in the
complex, poetic and slightly archaic style of Thomas Kaplan-Maxfield's
writing.  His characters' dialogue is intelligent and wide-ranging and
his descriptions make the town and the house characters in their own
right with their own history and outlook.  The result is often poetic,
but occasionally pretentious and overtly clever.

I would only have two complaints about this intriguing story.  One is
the relentlessly dispassionate way in which it is written.  Rather
than being put into Nikki's shoes her life and feelings are dissected
lovingly before us.  This makes the earlier part of the book hard
going, but after a few chapters the twists and turns of Nikki's family
history and current relationships entangled my interest.  I still
found that at times the narrative was claustrophobic and static with a
great deal of dialogue and only occasional bursts of dramatic action.
Secondly the cover price of this book at $25 even is high indeed for a
book that will not be to everyone's taste.  However the reader willing
to throw themselves into Kaplan-Maxfield's unique occult brand of
psychological archaeology will find they've got their money's worth.