It’s encouraging to see professors from Northeastern becoming successful in the literary world, as well as the world of academics. That’s just what Professor Gary Goshgarian did, under the pseudonym Gary Braver.

“Gray Matter,” Goshgarian’s second book, is a suspenseful thriller that appeals to the quest for a perfection that all of us have sought after, in some form, during our lives.

In the case of the book, Rachel Whitman, mother to happy, yet slow-learning, Dylan, is willing to do anything to have him fit in, intellectually, with his peers in their new up-scale neighborhood.

Just when Rachel feels she’s hit a dead end overcoming Dylan’s learning disabilities, a new country club friend plants the seed in her head that she has other options.

She tells Rachel about an underground medical procedure to improve one’s intelligence, despite the presence of brain deformities. Driven by personal guilt, she pushes aside the ethical issues that dwell in the back of her mind to pursue this alternative.

Compelling characters, as well as interesting subplots, provide for a very exciting read. The psychological web of means to attain perfection at a young age, leaves readers yearning to learn more.

Readers should expect not only a lesson in psychology and neurology, but also fast moving prose and dramatic plot twists.

Today’s society can easily identify with the need to achieve success in all aspects of life. Whether it’s an SAT prep class or devoting one’s life to their job in order to get ahead in their field, these issues are prevalent in everywhere.

Gary Goshgarian, a former physicist, is now a Professor of English at Northeastern University, where he teaches several fiction courses