Changing History

Changing History, a poetic novel by How Kuff, is a unique philosophical journey into the heart of humanity. Written like a Canterbury Tales of the 21st century, the alchemy of a mysterious meeting of seven international travelers in a snowstorm in the mountains of Tibet unfolds into an exploration of modern day society. In the blizzard, the travelers stumble upon a teahouse and spend the night with a Buddhist monk and nun waylaid on their journey between monasteries. During the night, the seven tell tales of circumstances and events that led each to question the fundamental nature of human affairs. In the ensuing conversations, they grapple with our global problems of war, terrorism, energy, water, politics, economics, environmental destruction, religious struggle and social cohesion. The current domination and genocide of the Tibetans becomes the focal point to the travelers' despair about the seemingly endless history of human violence and their haunting by existential guilt and responsibility. In the synergy of worldly knowledge and ancient thought, they come to realize that their sagas of personal strife and conflict are interwoven in a web of relationships that span the globe and breach the metaphysical.