Three forgotten melodies lead Shelumiel (AKA Louis), a young classics scholar, on a career path involving the preservation of ancient Greek texts before they fall prey to the ravages of time. A fourth melody, never forgotten, impels him on a journey of self-discovery. Inspired by his own awakening, Shelumiel / Louis seeks to reconnect with the beautiful coed who once loved him. Learning of her death and finding his further inquiries stonewalled, Shelumiel embarks on an investigation of her long-neglected disappearance. Shelumiel's inquiries launch him on a tortuous path of convoluted encounters, psychotic personalities, thought-provoking dialog, and serendipitous discoveries--all mysteriously interrelated. The trail culminates in a webwork of betrayal, corruption, and complicity that only the Holmes brothers or a lucid dream could disentangle.. Much more than an engaging mystery novel, Turning Back the River Speaks is an intellectual tour de force with a revealing glimpse into various philosophical, pedagogical, musicological, and sociological problems. In short, though couched in an unpredictable yet carefully organized itinerary of interrelated themes and motives, Turning Back The River Speaks is a blistering social satire with far-reaching implications for the reconstruction of an American self-awareness. In spite of its demands on the intellectual curiosity of the reader, Turning Back the River Speaks is filled with the author's characteristically outrageous humor. wit, and hairpin turns.