Hungry Ghost - by Keith Kachtick (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A New York Times Notable Book

"Fresh and alluring. . . . Hungry Ghost offers a new twist on the kind of covert dharma fiction we're familiar with in the works of Kate Wheeler and Jim Harrison." -- New York Times Book Review

Carter Cox is a talented but dissipated freelance photojournalist living in New York City's East Village with his sad dog and bad habits. Though he travels to exotic places taking pictures of models and celebrities, he yearns to do more meaningful work and to mend his womanizing ways. He also wants to put into practice the lessons he learns from his Buddhist betters, but he continues to carry with him his "seduction kit" a chessboard, cigarettes, and a Cormac McCarthy novel.

At a Buddhist retreat, he meets Mia Malone, a beautiful, smart devout Catholic determined to remain a virgin until she is married. Carter falls hard, and Mia nervously agrees to join him on a photo shoot in Morocco. With both of their souls hanging in the balance, they quickly go from the ocean to hot water: crashing their car, getting arrested, running afoul of a sadistic gendarme, and trying to flee the country. Over the course of their adventure, they discover that karma and the human heart work in very mysterious ways.

From the Back Cover

Carter Cox is a talented but dissipated freelance photojournalist living in New York City's East Village with his sad dog and bad habits. Though he travels to exotic places taking pictures of models and celebrities, he yearns to do more meaningful work and to mend his womanizing ways. He also wants to put into practice the lessons he learns from his Buddhist betters, but he continues to carry with him his "seduction kit" a chessboard, cigarettes, and a Cormac McCarthy novel.

At a Buddhist retreat, he meets Mia Malone, a beautiful, smart devout Catholic determined to remain a virgin until she is married. Carter falls hard, and Mia nervously agrees to join him on a photo shoot in Morocco. With both of their souls hanging in the balance, they quickly go from the ocean to hot water: crashing their car, getting arrested, running afoul of a sadistic gendarme, and trying to flee the country. Over the course of their adventure, they discover that karma and the human heart work in very mysterious ways.

Review Quotes

"Keith Kachtick's fine first novel has a lot going for it: gripping suspense, tender romance, and characters you deeply care about on a high-throttle adventure in exotic Morocco. The pages of Hungry Ghost seem to turn themselves, it's that good." - Ron Hansen

"The pages of HUNGRY GHOST seem to turn themselves, it's that good." - Ron Hansen

"Keith Kachtick writes in clear, often clever prose." - San Francisco Chronicle

"[Hungry Ghost] is an excellent, excellent novel." - Adrienne Miller, Esquire

"Kachtick proves himself an inventive storyteller . . . fresh and interesting." - Booklist

"An engaging chronicle of Calvin Klein-clad soul-searching." - Publishers Weekly

"Hungry Ghost offers a new twist on the kind of covert dharma fiction we're familiar with in the works of Kate Wheeler and Jim Harrison." - New York Times Book Review

"Kachtick writes with assurance and verve." - New York Times Book Review

A unique and fearless novel, dancing along the razor's edge between flesh and spirit, cynicism and belief. - Kate Wheeler

"Beach reading--for Ph.D.s." - New York Sun

"[An] enviable talent." - Poets & Writers