All Gone Awry

Book excerpt: March 11, 2011. A cataclysmic earthquake in Japan-a tsunami headed straight for the coast of California. With deep psychological fault lines of his own, Dr. Alex Arai has no idea of the personal upheaval ahead. Before long, the respected art history professor will become a graffiti vandal. Alex is mired in life-long conflict with his father, Kazuo Arai. A narcissistic sculptor, Kaz is best known for his memorials to Japanese Americans interned in U.S. concentration camps during World War II. Over the years, he has ridiculed Alex's artistic offerings while exploiting his son's scholarly articles to further his own career. Through an acquaintance in an "over-the-hill" basketball league, Alex is introduced to the world of graffiti. After learning how to wield a spray can, he embarks on a dangerous campaign as a graffiti artist, a journey that takes him to NYC, DC, and LA. The discovery of his "tags" leads to wild speculation as to the vandal's identity and motivation. In the resulting chaos, Alex faces grave legal jeopardy, loss of career, community scorn, and a threatened relationship with his longtime partner. From a desperate place of fragmentation, he must somehow forge a cohesive new self.