Author Terry Tarnoff discusses his novel The Thousand Year Journey of Tobias Parker with special focus on the story of the Spear of Longinus.

Nothing makes much sense in Tobias Parker’s life. He walks an ever-tightening circle through San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, where foxes fall out of trees, parachutes drop from the skies and mysterious boxes appear unannounced. Tobias is determined to fulfill his family’s curious thousand year destiny, but the obstacles seem insurmountable. Is there anyone out there to help him?

When screenwriter Tobias Parker discovers that every family on Earth is here to accomplish a particular task, he becomes determined to fulfill his family’s destiny. He learns that a unique battle is passed through the generations from father to son and mother to daughter, and that once the mission is fulfilled the family takes its place in a kind of celestial jigsaw puzzle. As Tobias embarks on his quest, his life becomes a breathless whirlwind which throws Hollywood, a misbegotten romance, and an arcane religious artifact into a roiling stew. His topsy-turvy, existential journey takes him to some hilarious highs, devastating lows, and leads him to ponder a whole bagful of thought-provoking ideas. In the end, Tobias discovers his family’s profound destiny and learns not only the meaning of his own life but also provides a big clue for the rest of us as well.