Larry Knipfing

Horace Larry Knipfing

Horace is an exploration and celebration of courage and hope. While powerful men sit on the sidelines ignoring reality, a quiet teenage boy - Horace - steps up in the wake of a nuclear reactor incident that threatens to destroy a city and its children. In the aftermath of an earthquake-triggered nuclear reactor incident in Japan, a teenage boy devises a plan to evacuate the children of Fukushima. Fueled by his disgust over government corruption, denial, and lax response to the catastrophe, Horace models his movement after the Underground Railroad, used during the days of slavery in America. Over a period of months, Horace manages to successfully pull parents and children together to shine a light on the ultimate consequences of doing nothing: Fukishima residents, especially the children, will suffer from exposure to radiation for generations to come. And in his mind, this would be not only unacceptable, but irresponsible and inhumane. Inspired by the principles of Aikido, the classic writings of great authors and thinkers, and the history of civil resistance, Horace?s operation reaches full steam and achieves global attention as he secretly and illegally relocates hundreds of children to safety. Is Horace a hero or a villain? In the end, the teen uses his notoriety as a platform to change the government's and the rest of the world?s views on the risks and dangers of nuclear energy. The story is told many years later, through an interview of Horace by author Haruki Murakami, along with excerpts from Horace's own journal. Funny, witty, and articulate...yet deathly serious, Horace inspires us all.