The Gay Gnani of Gingalee; Or, Discords of Devolution: A Tragical Entanglement of Modern Mysticism and Modern Science

A small-town tale of two childhood friends whose paths diverge into radically different worlds. Alonzo Leffingwell has abandoned conventional life for mystical pursuits, chasing enlightenment through practices his neighbors consider mad. His old companion Bill Vanderhook stayed behind, building a respectable existence as a druggist with dreams of political power. When the enigmatic Imogene Silesia Sheets arrives in Gingalee, she shatters their fragile equilibrium. Alonzo's mystical vows crumble at her presence, while Bill falls into desperate infatuation. What follows is a strange, often hilarious chain of events where scientific ambition collides with spiritual seeking, where fate seems to mock every character's grand designs. Huntley writes with a knowing wink, blending absurdist comedy with genuine philosophical questioning. The novel reads like a period piece that somehow anticipates modernist anxieties about progress, meaning, and what we've sacrificed in the name of advancement. It's strange. It's uneven. It's unlike anything else from its era.