A Noble Story by David Drayer

Reviewed by Patricia Thrushart

Those of us who never had the moxie to ride motorcycles usually see them as an iconic representation of freedom, mixed with a healthy dose of rebellion and no small amount of danger.  On a website about the interpretation of dreams, motorcycles are said to signify moving forward, or a search for the freedom to express yourself.  You might be headed for an affair of the heart, the expert explains, and if you aren’t wearing a helmet, well, you’re thinking of being rebellious— quitting your job, for instance.

The cover of David Drayer’s book, “The Noble Story,” features a picture of the author on a Suzuki Boulevard, hair streaming back behind his dark glasses.  You’ll be forgiven if, after you pick up the book, you get an ear worm featuring Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild.”  It is the perfect cover for a story that encapsulates all of the dreamweaver’s interpretation: rebellion against a stultifying job, a desire for the freedom to live a creative life, and a search for love.  

While this combination of themes is not unique in fiction, Drayer’s treatment of them is marvelous. The book is written in the present tense and in the first person.  As a reader, this establishes an immediacy that erases any sense of distance between you and the unnamed narrator, leaving no space for judgment or second-guessing.  It only takes a few pages of Drayer’s playful, hip-but-not-too-hip, honest storytelling to get you completely on the side of this guy who leaves his cubicle for a walk one morning and spends the rest of the day interacting with strange, but entirely believable characters— and that’s just the start of his journey.  

As Drayer’s protagonist finds his writing muse again, the book flips back and forth between his first-person narration and excerpts from the story he begins to write.  This is the other entertaining aspect of “A Noble Story.”  As the reader you get a front-row seat observing the protagonist’s creative process, where, as the narrator explains to his new romantic interest, “I can’t tell you how it will play out.  I don’t know.  I really don’t know.”  The story is writing itself, taking on a life of its own. You get to see firsthand how the events of the author’s day infuse the book he writes.  It’s fiction layered in fiction, and it is really fun to tag along.  

Drayer’s approach to storytelling is refreshingly nonconformist. I especially appreciated  the way his ex-girlfriends would show up, but only in his imagination, and carry on cogent conversations rather like the ghosts of Christmas did with Scrooge.  

I truly enjoyed this book, and I didn’t start out a willing fan.  I don’t often read fiction, preferring the reality of nonfiction, and I’m going to admit right here that I don’t often read fiction written by men. I won’t go into all the reasons that’s so, and I’m sure many of you will either disagree with me or fill in the blanks.  What I can say is, although I’m not ready to hop on a Harley, Drayer won me over.  I am confident you’ll enjoy the time you spend with “A Noble Story.”