With Millennium Rose, Robert Michael Congemi continues his novel series, narrating the lives of his New Yorkers from 2004-2008. With the second presidency of George W. Bush as a backdrop, Millennium Rose presents the story of a young philosophy professor who journeys to Albany, New York, to retreat from the world and regain his equilibrium by trying to learn what indeed is the fundamental nature of being and how he might live according to it. Instead he meets several characters from Congemi’s preceding novel Millennium Dawn and experiences with them the galvanizing sight of Hurricane Katrina upon New Orleans, the escalation of laws and prohibitions post--9/11, and the sudden possibility of the presidency of Senator Barack Obama. As with Millennium Dawn, the author treats this experience from multiple viewpoints to better capture the dislocations of the period. Millennium Rose also includes a long short story entitled “My Dear Alexander,” which depicts the young professor’s days during his tenure review some time previous to that of Millennium Rose.
Robert Michael Congemi lives in Albany, New York and teaches at SUNY’s Empire State College. Millennium Rose is his seventh book. Find out more at: robertcongemi.com
