ABOUT THE BOOK

What is this thing about, anyway?

A difficult question to answer, without giving too much away. Yesterday and Today is a story of psychological and philosophical crisis, of stark disillusionment, of finding oneself face-to-face with the harshest realities of life...and death. It is meant to grip. It is meant to challenge.

Short and focused, the drama plays out over the space of just one night and day: three characters locked in battle with themselves, struggling to make sense of their situations, of the choices placed before them. What should be done? What is best? What is acceptable? Why?

Why not?

Fine, but is it really for me?

Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever THINK? Do you ever search yourself? Do you seek after truth? Do you read acclaimed books, watch powerful films, and find, days or weeks later, that the message has dried and withered, that you are completely untouched, completely unaltered? Do you ever feel lonely at heart? Do you long for something that challenges, something that cuts through the numbing haze of ephemeral entertainment which so fully suffuses modern life? Do you recall the stories of your youth; inhabiting the characters, living the conflicts? Do you remember staying up deep into the night, drawn forward through the pages as through a narrowing tunnel, imagination blurring the line between what is real and what is not; and finally, upon reaching The End, feeling as though something lasting - something real - had taken place?

This book is written for you.

Read an excerpt.

Buy Yesterday and Today.

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Nice marketing. How about a second opinion?

Selected reader comments are below. To submit a comment, go right here.

Y&T reminds us of the intersection of human life and that human beings cannot be separated from one another, just like you cannot separate today from the impact of yesterday.

I was disappointed by the lack of cohesion of the three plot lines, and the ultimate ambiguity of Adam's story. However, Cheek's language and imagery were rich and beautiful, reminding me of why I am majoring in English: the look of words on a page and an author's ability to tangle them with human emotions.

-Nicolyn Woodcock

Why not? William Cheek provides a telling view of the human imagination as it struggles with the conflicts of right and wrong. The book is well written and characterizing. Yet, it leaves ample room for interpretation by the reader. Once started, it was a hard book to put down.

-Don Sebert

I believe Cheek’s novel stirs any age group from the effortless “sleep” reading many novels today place us in. “Yesterday and Today” forces you to think about controversial topics and make your own decisions between right or wrong. The intellectual vocabulary and entertaining metaphors about everyday life keep you smiling even when the content can test the boundaries of morbidity. The author crawls inside the heads of his three characters and shares childhood stings, the ecstasy of opportunity, the impact our decisions make and some adulthood blues. “Yesterday and Today” is a thinking novel that teases you with open ended chapters; this was an aspect I loved to hate because it made it impossible to stop the pages from turning. -KR

-KR

I could not put William's book down when I sat down to read it. I think this is a winner. I bet college students would really get into the internal struggles of the egos. The author creates good visuals with words and suspense, so that the reader wants to find out what these poor tortured human creatures do with their lives at the end of the book.

-Pamela Sebert

I had trouble putting this book down. The imagery was phenomenal, and really made the stories come to life. The way all of the characters were connected, yet barely aware of each others' existence, reminded me of people-watching and asking myself "I wonder what that guy's story is?" or "Where could he (or she) be going?"

-Tyler Masterson

Beautiful, insightful writing. The word pictures present vivid views into the minds of the characters. I found myself wondering if I had ever had any of these same thoughts.

-Marion Tewksbury

Read the book. Think about it. Go to the comments page and type something smart in. Then you, too, can have a permanent place on this website.