A Bed by the Window
A Novel Of Mystery And Redemption
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The memorable scenes are powerfully drawn. . . . A spiritual mystery . . . both moving and brave.”—The New York Times Book Review
The acclaimed author of the phenomenal bestseller The Road Less Traveled adds a natural gift for storytelling to his spiritual insight and profound awareness of human nature in this mesmerizing, deeply moving new work.
Among those within the self-contained world of the Willow Glen nursing home are two extraordinary people. One is there to give care, the other to receive it. Yet together they form a bond of love and trust that transcends their expectations and changes their lives.
Stephen Solaris—Imprisoned in a helpless body since birth, unable to even speak, he has an incredible ability to touch the hearts and minds of those around him with the power of his personality.
Heather Barsten—a nurse whose devotion to her patients surpasses her ability to fulfill her own needs. From Stephen she learns the importance of being true to one’s heart—and she finds herself falling in love.
Then violence shatters Willow Glen. Now a murderer roams the halls of the home, and the residents and staff must confront a truly terrifying evil and face their innermost fears, suspicions, and darkest secrets. . . .
A Bed by the Window is an exceptional work, a gripping psychological thriller and a luminous synthesis of Peck’s thinking on good and evil, spiritual growth, and the miracles worked by love.
“Scott Peck . . . [is] a born storyteller. . . . His unique insights and wisdom [come] through pin] pure story. This is . . . a page-turner, a book that you start and can’t put down.”—Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle of Time
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Setting his first novel in the Midwestern community of New Warsaw, psychologist Peck ( The Road Less Traveled ) focuses on inmates of the Willow Glen nursing home. This small but fascinating world is soon disrupted by the murder of its most famous and charismatic resident, spastic quadriplegic Stephen Solaris, who taps messages with his knuckles on a letter board and is the only non-elderly resident. Ex-New Yorker Lt. Petri, a fresh recruit to the local police force, plunges into an investigation, armed with a fistful of preconceptions about nursing homes and seniors, and is saved from making a false arrest by the fortunate interference of residents Marion Grochowski and Georgia Bates. Petri admits his mistake and broadens his search, finally seeking help from Dr. Kolnietz, Willow Glen therapist. Peck's interest in the metaphysical is well placed in the nursing home setting, where death is an expected visitor. Yet the author's examination of virtue is more searching than his consideration of evil, and some characters experience unconvincing changes of heart. But that should not deter the reader from enjoying a generally intelligent look at human growth.
