One of Us
By Vlad K. Once
2011
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 3 stars
What is Noetic Positivism? It is “a project of the cutting edge social science initiated by Vlad K. Once” asking a simple question: Why does a person live? Each individual finds the answers to this question in one’s own unique way. One of Us is a psychological drama that explores the life of Tomas Kirschner.
In a little town on the outskirts of Maastricht, in the south of Holland, 5-year-old Tomas had great fun riding a tricycle downhill when his father came to the rescue to catch him to stop him from falling off.
At the age of 12, he got a real mountain bike. Going forward, after his admiration of Otto Grundig, he aspires to success such as Grundig’s, both in sports as a professional racing cyclist and as a professional in the world of business.
Readers follow this young man, later known as the “Flying Dutchman,” in training at the Velo Club, in races, and in his personal life. It is an interesting story told from first person point of view as he lives each day. Readers learn what he does and feels by his telling, but miss feeling his feelings. What this reviewer found lacking, in my opinion, is the emotional depth and nuances beyond the telling of the facts of this interesting story that would have more deeply captured readers.
