Mysterious 5PM offers a Milwaukee novel of warning
By Bobby Tanzilo - Managing Editor
Published April 4, 2007 at 5:14 a.m.
You've got to hand it to 5PM, author of "Historic Third Ward," a mysterious new futuristic novel -- a la Orwell's "1984" or Huxley's "Brave New World" -- set in Milwaukee.
The novel paints the picture of a pitched battle between a small group of devout capitalists in a well-meaning world gone mad. In this setting, the Third Ward becomes a "Living Museum" of capitalism, sealed behind Plexiglass walls. It's a futuristic action movie waiting to be filmed.
5PM has written a cogent -- although some could certainly argue alarmist and polemical -- novel; itself an accomplishment for someone who may or may not be a writer.
And that's where the author's cleverness really shines through. He (if you judge by the photos) or she (if you assume the book's Web site is registered to the author) has done a top-notch job at keeping secret his/her identity.
We reached 5PM, who may or may not have been in Europe at the time and who may or may not live in Butler (or on the Northwest Side), via e-mail to talk about the book, which has been published in an initial run of 1,000 copies wrapped in a no-frills jacket.
If you're expecting a novel about yuppies hanging in condos with Downtown views, sipping wine and talking about the new neighborhood boutiques, you'll be in for quite a shock when you read "Historic Third Ward."
OMC: What led you to write the book?
5PM: I wrote this book for people to realize the continuing impact that history has on their lives. We are looking at history all wrong. We are losing the real descriptions of horrific events such as WWII and communism with the death of the older generation. We are losing the human side to them. The younger generation is moving towards repeating history's mistakes, because we don't fathom just how bad it really was. Education does not aptly paint the picture and we didn't live it.
OMC: What do you think leading us towards this kind of society?
5PM: Look at the Chinese revolution and communism in both China and Russia. From the red guards to the importance of wearing a button of Mao to remain socially acceptable. What seem like good intentions lead to a gross manipulation of the truth. Those types of teachers from the book are the same reality thieves I haven't been able to forget about since my time in school. I had to make an example of them in this book, because they are an injustice to students everywhere.
OMC: Is the book more of a social message or warning, or more of a political one?
5PM: There is no one message to this book, only multiple. So far each person who has read it gives me their feed back on the messages that stood out to them. I'll never be one-dimensional. I've gone through too much in my life to be that boring.
OMC: Why the Third Ward?
5PM: Ever since I was a kid staring out the car window as we passed the Third Ward on 794 or on the overpass, I found it to be a place of possibilities. I spent a lot of my teenage years in the Third Ward. Subconsciously, it grew on me. I found myself attracted to its history and its various streets. The Third Ward became so unique in my mind that I had to write a story about it. Throughout my early 20, I wondered what the story was. Too often we are pursuing shallow objectives that are in a sense preventing our abilities to question others. The world is receiving a gross manipulation of what progress is along with a false sense of security.
OMC: What are your plans for the book?
5PM: The first printing of this book was an experiment. I never told anyone that I was writing it except for my mother. The first 1,000 copies of the book are free and I've been distributing them for free. With the current global situation being as it stands, it was more important to me to get this story out. With my extensive time abroad and the scope of the story, I realize now that I want to publish this book by a larger publisher. The idea and story need to reach more people than I have ever imagined.
OMC: Where can people get the book?
5PM: Right now the book can be found on my Web site. The Web site has pictures of the buildings and places I mention in the book, which people can visit in the Third Ward and all of Wisconsin. There are also links to all the locations and events I mention in the book and a page for readers to blog about the book.
