The Trilogy of Dreams
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內容簡介
PREFACE
The writing of this, my first novel, is of special significance to me because the work began after I had lost my sight in both eyes．Most important of all，I relied on the enthusiasm of literary passion to help me pass the most difficult and painful period of my life．Perhaps it was the upheaval of my painful experience and the stimulation of literary creativity，interacting on one another that produced the momentum for me to keep on writing．Now，looking at and fingering the stacks of rough drafts and manuscripts piled on my desk，my feelings are so mixed that they are really hard to define．I myself cannot distinguish whether they are feelings of joy or sadness or a mixture of both．I am amazed at the swiftness of the passage of time．Years had slipped by as quickly as flowing water．But I find consolation in the fact that on the smooth, transparent surface of time, I used words to leave some imprint，carving out footnotes of my life．
This pages，the result of evening after evening of rewriting and editing，were the product of my heart’s blood. Their accumulation was by no means easy for a man denied the use of his eyes，and therefore gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment．Things that I saw，heard and thought of since my immigration from Taiwan to the United States ten years ago，have become topics for my novel．For example，the name of a janitor in our building，conversations unintentionally overheard on a bus，strange dreams I had，were all collected and woven into a web，like a bird finding a straw here，some earth there，and branches somewhere else，put together to build itself a nest．Chapter Three，Amalia，was inspired by a true story from a TV interview．The book is a series of events connected through the central figure of Dimitri．Actually，Dimitri was a character that had been in my mind since my youth， growing clearer and more concrete as the book progressed．This character was actually a metamorphosis of my internal sensibilities projected onto every page．
Thinking over the course of my writing，there was really no motive，only an accidental beginning．At that time，I was studying English writing and composition at a junior college． Pieces of short essays put together became the rudiments of the novel．Just as the origin of every river is the accumulation of water drops，so is this novel the documentation of the process of my learning English as a second language. It could also be said to be a set of textbooks I wrote to teach myself English．Here，I must first thank the excellent and dedicated staff of English instructors at the college who had given me great help in mastering the language．
Of all my teachers，the one that had the greatest impact on my life was Jenny Shen，my first English teacher after I came to America．At that time，I was almost thirty years old， newly arrived from Taiwan to a strange land，with an English vocabulary of less than twenty words，living under the cloud of imminent loss of my eye-sight．I felt like a rudderless boat floating on rough seas，fearful of the unknown．Then I met Jenny．She had not been able to teach me regularly because of her work load，but off and on whenever possible she had given voluntarily and unstintingly of her time and expertise． She not only taught me English，but also introduced me to the vast resources available to the disabled．Through her I came to know of the Rehabilitation Program for the Blind，enabling me to get my life on track．In my heart，gratitude is the greatest feeling I have for her．Again，I have to thank the Access Center for Disabled Students of the college and the government aid granted me by the Department of Rehabilitation． I also want to express my sincere thanks to Rosie Lee，my present teacher．For the last five years，rain or shine，she has come to my aid，tirelessly teaching me．Every word in this novel，from the first to the last，was hand written and then typed by her． If it were not for her assistance, this novel would never have come into being．
Last but not least I want to thank my benevolent parents who gave birth to me; for without them I would not have come into this world．Nor would I have been able to experience the joys and sorrows of life and learn to face them as if enjoying a poem．
In this novel，I have sculptured many beautiful women． There are still quite a few more that I have not had the chance to write down．I feel apologetic and uneasy to these beauties to whom I have not yet given life by my words，but I had to finish this book．Hopefully，I will soon be able to go on with my writing and give life to the other creatures of my imagination． In a word，the completion of this novel was the accumulation of a lot of conditions and circumstances，none of which were dispensable． So if there is anything worthy of praise in my venture, let it go to all who have helped me．If there is anything incorrect or deserving of criticism，the fault is all mine and mine alone．
Da Shien Wang
LIST OF CHARACTERS
THE TWENTY-FOUR BEAUTIES
1．AISHA—famous international scholar of Humanism，in her thirties，slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes only add to her mature beauty．
2．STEPHANIE—descendant of the Indian royal family banished to a foreign land，seeker of the mysterious potentiality of life，hoping to solve the profound secrets of the universe．
3．ANGELICA—a poetess of crystal-like beauty，sensitive and exquisitely fragile，arousing protective instincts in all who saw her．
4．LOTUS—oriental beauty，gentle and hypnotic as the full moon，movements slow but systematic and orderly．
5．SAMANTHA—once the top European model，now retired to King Dimitri’s Kingdom．She could never forget her past triumphs and glories．
6．DORNA—former cigarette girl and pickpocket，energetic and a practical joker，King Dimitri’s pet．
7. NATALIE—Russian ballerina of ethereal and angelic beauty，noted for her stylish poise，matchless grace and elegant symmetry．
8．NOVELLA—born and raised in a privileged and influential family，she finds it hard to deal with the hidden dangers surrounding her．
9．ELINA—ophthalmologist，renowned for her expertise in laser surgery．
10. ROMI—architect，thrice-married，a victim of the marriage system，deeply in love with Dimitri．
11．DEANNA—native girl in King Dimitri’s Kingdom，untouched by civilization，still retains her natural purity，kindness and naivete.
12．ILEEN—the traitor of King Dimitri’s Kingdom，magnetic beauty cannot hide her scheming and crafty heart．
13. MEDUSA—the resurrected，snake-haired Gorgon of Greek mythology，has now become the guardian of King Dimitri’s Kingdom and his beauties．
14．WHITE FAIRY—incarnation of the Easter lily，capable of appearing and disappearing at will．unfathomable and unpredictable．
15．YOKO—a protégé of Amalia，grew up in the gambling halls，but questionable surroundings did not in the least harm her purity and the kindness of her heart．
16．MARCELINA—gypsy street musician，a sentimental fatalist．
17.MEGGINN—a child at heart，but has mastered the ultra modern techniques of enterprise management，succeeded Ileen as the general administrator of King Dimitri’s Kingdom．
18．LAVERNE—brave and unwavering．dedicated herself to a family which was no blood relation to herself．
19．MARY—golden-haired young girl，Dimitri’s old friend， whose background remains a mystery．
20．SHEELA—a victim of Fate，became a teenage prostitute roaming the streets，found salvation in King Dimitri’s Kingdom．
21．CHANEL—forced to give up her vows as a nun，she abandoned herself to a sensual and decadent life style，finally saved because of her numerous appearances in Dimitri’s dreams．
22．CLEMENTINE—daughter of Zeus，born after the most flourishing period of Greek mythology and is therefore unknown．She is an illusion with image but no substance， grew tired of heaven and escaped to earth．
23．CHARMAINE—Clementine’s twin sister with no image and no substance，whose existence is known only to Clementine．
24. MARIANNA—a married woman．Chance encounter with Dimitri led to an extra-marital affair．
OTHER CHARACTERS：
AMALIA—a witch in the world of traditional fairy tales，she is a kind，elderly person in our story．Her conduct is sometimes savagely unreasonable，sometimes funny and preposterous，but nevertheless always retains the kindness of heart of a benevolent elder．
MR. FINGER—so named because of his height，which is only that of an index finger．Lover of sex and wine，he is temperamental in the extreme，acting impulsively only on his personal likes and dislikes，has magic power and is therefore capable of doing either good or evil．
OLIVER KAFFEE—leads the double life of a don in the Mafia and a prince of finance．A crafty and cunning opportunist，his methods are cruel and ruthless．
RICHARD—an out-of-luck gambler who often has to resort to petty thievery at night to survive．Loyal to his friends and indignant of injustice，he is a staunch friend of Dimitri．
JAMAZ—a tall，stalwart black man from the primitive wilds of Africa，with a splendid physique and strong, lusty sexual desires．Used to seeing life and death struggles in the animal world，he is numb and ignorant towards the value of life． He is also a staunch friend of Dimitri. DIMITRI—the main character of our story．Fantasy and reality are so interwoven that its joys and sorrows become a dense，crisscrossed，psychological web which goes to form his unique life-style．
The writing of this, my first novel, is of special significance to me because the work began after I had lost my sight in both eyes．Most important of all，I relied on the enthusiasm of literary passion to help me pass the most difficult and painful period of my life．Perhaps it was the upheaval of my painful experience and the stimulation of literary creativity，interacting on one another that produced the momentum for me to keep on writing．Now，looking at and fingering the stacks of rough drafts and manuscripts piled on my desk，my feelings are so mixed that they are really hard to define．I myself cannot distinguish whether they are feelings of joy or sadness or a mixture of both．I am amazed at the swiftness of the passage of time．Years had slipped by as quickly as flowing water．But I find consolation in the fact that on the smooth, transparent surface of time, I used words to leave some imprint，carving out footnotes of my life．
This pages，the result of evening after evening of rewriting and editing，were the product of my heart’s blood. Their accumulation was by no means easy for a man denied the use of his eyes，and therefore gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment．Things that I saw，heard and thought of since my immigration from Taiwan to the United States ten years ago，have become topics for my novel．For example，the name of a janitor in our building，conversations unintentionally overheard on a bus，strange dreams I had，were all collected and woven into a web，like a bird finding a straw here，some earth there，and branches somewhere else，put together to build itself a nest．Chapter Three，Amalia，was inspired by a true story from a TV interview．The book is a series of events connected through the central figure of Dimitri．Actually，Dimitri was a character that had been in my mind since my youth， growing clearer and more concrete as the book progressed．This character was actually a metamorphosis of my internal sensibilities projected onto every page．
Thinking over the course of my writing，there was really no motive，only an accidental beginning．At that time，I was studying English writing and composition at a junior college． Pieces of short essays put together became the rudiments of the novel．Just as the origin of every river is the accumulation of water drops，so is this novel the documentation of the process of my learning English as a second language. It could also be said to be a set of textbooks I wrote to teach myself English．Here，I must first thank the excellent and dedicated staff of English instructors at the college who had given me great help in mastering the language．
Of all my teachers，the one that had the greatest impact on my life was Jenny Shen，my first English teacher after I came to America．At that time，I was almost thirty years old， newly arrived from Taiwan to a strange land，with an English vocabulary of less than twenty words，living under the cloud of imminent loss of my eye-sight．I felt like a rudderless boat floating on rough seas，fearful of the unknown．Then I met Jenny．She had not been able to teach me regularly because of her work load，but off and on whenever possible she had given voluntarily and unstintingly of her time and expertise． She not only taught me English，but also introduced me to the vast resources available to the disabled．Through her I came to know of the Rehabilitation Program for the Blind，enabling me to get my life on track．In my heart，gratitude is the greatest feeling I have for her．Again，I have to thank the Access Center for Disabled Students of the college and the government aid granted me by the Department of Rehabilitation． I also want to express my sincere thanks to Rosie Lee，my present teacher．For the last five years，rain or shine，she has come to my aid，tirelessly teaching me．Every word in this novel，from the first to the last，was hand written and then typed by her． If it were not for her assistance, this novel would never have come into being．
Last but not least I want to thank my benevolent parents who gave birth to me; for without them I would not have come into this world．Nor would I have been able to experience the joys and sorrows of life and learn to face them as if enjoying a poem．
In this novel，I have sculptured many beautiful women． There are still quite a few more that I have not had the chance to write down．I feel apologetic and uneasy to these beauties to whom I have not yet given life by my words，but I had to finish this book．Hopefully，I will soon be able to go on with my writing and give life to the other creatures of my imagination． In a word，the completion of this novel was the accumulation of a lot of conditions and circumstances，none of which were dispensable． So if there is anything worthy of praise in my venture, let it go to all who have helped me．If there is anything incorrect or deserving of criticism，the fault is all mine and mine alone．
Da Shien Wang
LIST OF CHARACTERS
THE TWENTY-FOUR BEAUTIES
1．AISHA—famous international scholar of Humanism，in her thirties，slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes only add to her mature beauty．
2．STEPHANIE—descendant of the Indian royal family banished to a foreign land，seeker of the mysterious potentiality of life，hoping to solve the profound secrets of the universe．
3．ANGELICA—a poetess of crystal-like beauty，sensitive and exquisitely fragile，arousing protective instincts in all who saw her．
4．LOTUS—oriental beauty，gentle and hypnotic as the full moon，movements slow but systematic and orderly．
5．SAMANTHA—once the top European model，now retired to King Dimitri’s Kingdom．She could never forget her past triumphs and glories．
6．DORNA—former cigarette girl and pickpocket，energetic and a practical joker，King Dimitri’s pet．
7. NATALIE—Russian ballerina of ethereal and angelic beauty，noted for her stylish poise，matchless grace and elegant symmetry．
8．NOVELLA—born and raised in a privileged and influential family，she finds it hard to deal with the hidden dangers surrounding her．
9．ELINA—ophthalmologist，renowned for her expertise in laser surgery．
10. ROMI—architect，thrice-married，a victim of the marriage system，deeply in love with Dimitri．
11．DEANNA—native girl in King Dimitri’s Kingdom，untouched by civilization，still retains her natural purity，kindness and naivete.
12．ILEEN—the traitor of King Dimitri’s Kingdom，magnetic beauty cannot hide her scheming and crafty heart．
13. MEDUSA—the resurrected，snake-haired Gorgon of Greek mythology，has now become the guardian of King Dimitri’s Kingdom and his beauties．
14．WHITE FAIRY—incarnation of the Easter lily，capable of appearing and disappearing at will．unfathomable and unpredictable．
15．YOKO—a protégé of Amalia，grew up in the gambling halls，but questionable surroundings did not in the least harm her purity and the kindness of her heart．
16．MARCELINA—gypsy street musician，a sentimental fatalist．
17.MEGGINN—a child at heart，but has mastered the ultra modern techniques of enterprise management，succeeded Ileen as the general administrator of King Dimitri’s Kingdom．
18．LAVERNE—brave and unwavering．dedicated herself to a family which was no blood relation to herself．
19．MARY—golden-haired young girl，Dimitri’s old friend， whose background remains a mystery．
20．SHEELA—a victim of Fate，became a teenage prostitute roaming the streets，found salvation in King Dimitri’s Kingdom．
21．CHANEL—forced to give up her vows as a nun，she abandoned herself to a sensual and decadent life style，finally saved because of her numerous appearances in Dimitri’s dreams．
22．CLEMENTINE—daughter of Zeus，born after the most flourishing period of Greek mythology and is therefore unknown．She is an illusion with image but no substance， grew tired of heaven and escaped to earth．
23．CHARMAINE—Clementine’s twin sister with no image and no substance，whose existence is known only to Clementine．
24. MARIANNA—a married woman．Chance encounter with Dimitri led to an extra-marital affair．
OTHER CHARACTERS：
AMALIA—a witch in the world of traditional fairy tales，she is a kind，elderly person in our story．Her conduct is sometimes savagely unreasonable，sometimes funny and preposterous，but nevertheless always retains the kindness of heart of a benevolent elder．
MR. FINGER—so named because of his height，which is only that of an index finger．Lover of sex and wine，he is temperamental in the extreme，acting impulsively only on his personal likes and dislikes，has magic power and is therefore capable of doing either good or evil．
OLIVER KAFFEE—leads the double life of a don in the Mafia and a prince of finance．A crafty and cunning opportunist，his methods are cruel and ruthless．
RICHARD—an out-of-luck gambler who often has to resort to petty thievery at night to survive．Loyal to his friends and indignant of injustice，he is a staunch friend of Dimitri．
JAMAZ—a tall，stalwart black man from the primitive wilds of Africa，with a splendid physique and strong, lusty sexual desires．Used to seeing life and death struggles in the animal world，he is numb and ignorant towards the value of life． He is also a staunch friend of Dimitri. DIMITRI—the main character of our story．Fantasy and reality are so interwoven that its joys and sorrows become a dense，crisscrossed，psychological web which goes to form his unique life-style．