A Binary Life

About the Book

Binary choices, like switches, determine on/off, yes/no, turn right or left, marry or not, etc. Certain binary choices can be fatal: run this traffic light or not. The novel follows Al Thompson in a unique way for we observe him as he marries Ellen and/or Lois, as he opts to open an art gallery and/or be employed in little theatre, as he reacts to a death in the family self-destructively and/or creatively. In one chapter, the best route to experience the drama of Al’s life is by means of a play rather than narrative. As reader, you may choose the order of chapters according to the binary tree in the index for a work of fiction that is a matter of life and/or death.

About the Author

Like yours, the life of Willard Pottinger has involved innumerable choices, binary decisions: which career to follow, in which universities to study (McMaster, Hamilton; University of Toronto; Carleton, Ottawa), whether to marry. One binary decision led him to teach English and/or work for the Presbyterian Church in Canada. In one career, he taught in high schools of Quebec, Ontario and Thailand, and in colleges in China and Kazakhstan. As to the latter, he worked in Montreal, Ottawa and Hamilton, Canada. Now retired, he enjoys curling and cycling, and with his wife Enid, spends time with their adult children in Toronto and/or Vienna, Austria.