Socrates, Einstein, Freud and approximately 200 Napoleons walk into an existential problem. Is there life before death? Thus begins the endgame of the critically acclaimed Beforelife satirical trilogy. For its author, however, writing will continue past this major milestone.
Western Law professor Randal Graham has released Nether Regions, the third novel in the series. Set in a richly constructed universe in the afterlife, it is much more than a blend of fantasy and satire.
His academic background and interests have come together in the foundations of this trilogy. Becoming a novelist had been a lifelong dream, deferred to pursue a career in law. Graham now teaches topics like legal ethics, professionalism and statutory interpretation at Western.
His deep legal knowledge, combined with his passion for reading and writing literature, eventually laid the groundwork for him to dream up the cerebral, and now critically acclaimed, series. His first novel, Beforelife, won the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) gold medal for fantasy fiction in 2018. Both Beforelife and its sequel, Afterlife Crisis, were finalists for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
The themes and characters in the third novel are as eclectic as in the first two. In Nether Regions, a central thread in the series threatens to become unravelled. Most residents of the afterlife, including some rather well-known ones, don’t believe in life before death, but when two of the best-known residents welcome a child, the truth of the beforelife is at risk of being revealed.
The plot permits Graham to examine weighty ideas with a deft, light touch.
“Nether Regions explores current law and politics, particularly the rise of populism, the role of religion in stoking populist movements, as well as a discussion of immigration, colonization and identity politics,” said Graham.
“I also deal with issues of faith, the nature of belief, empiricism and mental illness. So, while I do tackle some serious issues, the overall intent is to… let readers think of those issues through a comedic lens,” he said.
The idea for Beforelife, and the eventual trilogy, emerged while Graham was drafting a paper on the factors influencing ethical decision-making in law. In the paper, he outlined how microeconomic concepts such as scarcity influence decisions. In Graham’s fictional universe, he explores a post-mortal existence where scarcity doesn’t apply and therefore doesn’t limit or guide choices.
While Graham emphasizes his books aren’t steeped in legalese, he does appeal to readers who are able to pick up on the underlying arguments about philosophy and legal theory.
With the trilogy wrapped up, Graham continues to write fiction. His forthcoming novel is set in a fictional law school.
But he remains open to returning to the universe of the Beforelife trilogy. The possibilities, as they say, are endless.
