Truth and Bright Water: A Novel

Average customer rating:

a pleasant but unsatisfying read

Bittersweet symphony of words

Mystical or Merely Muddy?

Indian History Within Narratored Stories

Another triumph

Truth and Bright Water: A Novel
Thomas King
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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King, Thomas | Authors, A-Z | Native Literature | Canadian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0802138403

Book Description

Thomas King is a writer of lyrical, comic poignancy, and a best-selling author in Canada. Of his latest novel, Newsday wrote, "Thomas King has quietly and gorgeously done it again." Truth and Bright Water tells of a summer in the life of Tecumseh and Lum, young Native-American cousins coming of age in the Montana town of Truth, and the Bright Water Reserve across the river in Alberta. It opens with a mysterious woman with a suitcase, throwing things into the river -- then jumping in herself. Tecumseh and Lum go to help, but she and her truck have disappeared. Other mysteries puzzle Tecumseh: whether his mom will take his dad back; if his rolling-stone aunt is home to stay; why no one protects Lum from his father's rages. Then Tecumseh gets a job helping an artist -- Bright Water's most famous son -- with the project of a lifetime. As Truth and Bright Water prepare for the Indian Days festival, their secrets come together in a climax of tragedy, reconciliation, and love.

Customer Reviews:

a pleasant but unsatisfying read.......2003-03-06

Similar to what 2 other reviewers mentioned, I found this book to be nice on landscape description but was puzzled that almost none of the key threads running through this story (e.g., abusive parent, emotional wounds from the past, unwanted pregnancy) were ever fleshed out or came to any conclusion. I don't require that a book ends with a nice tidy ending but these themes were so central to the characters and place that it would have been nice to see them through. But overall I did enjoy the book, just might not recommend it strongly.

Bittersweet symphony of words.......2001-11-30

Pulling the old book off the shelf, I remember the faint memory of when this bookI was read to me. Reading it again refreshes my memory of the times I sat on the bed, listening to words strung together like beads on a string. They make up a story of a boy not so long ago and far away.

The intriguing book had me crouched together, rocking back and forth, hungry for every word which told lies, theories and memories. What does she mean? Why did he say that? Why does he act that way? Thoughts racing through my mind as I was read Truth and Bright Water.

I read it again to write this review. I've decided to mention a few interesting aspects of the novel that made it worthwhile in my opinion.

It happens every so often that the boy telling the story will have a flashback which may not always be important to the book but helps reveal things about the people around Tecumseh, the main character who is telling the story. Some of his memories include his mother's reactions of when his father moved to Truth, the stories his grandmother told of his mother and Auntie Cassie, and the day the old church got sold to Monroe Swimmer. Reading Tecumseh's memories was like thinking you took a wrong turn only to realize you were heading in the right direction the whole time. It wasn't a lost feeling or a feeling of isolation but rather Tecumseh's childhood told from an innocent point of view. It gave the book a human touch.

In reading this novel, you would discover soon that whenever two people are having a conversation, they are really having two or three conversations at the same time. For example:
"Now that school's out," my mother says, "I guess you'll be looking for something to do."
"What's for breakfast?"
"The railroad might be hiring this summer," says my mother.
"Sausage?"
"You should check with Wally Preston over at the job gate."
"Eggs would be okay."
"Cereal's in the cupboard," she says.
"French toast?"
"Spoon's in the drawer."
-pg.17

One could argue that there are psychological reasons for this, but I'm not going to go down that road.

In numerous chapters, two things are happening at the same time. One example of this situation is when you read Tecumseh's thoughts about a private matter, and then there are the conversations that he has with the person beside him. He'll jump back to his thoughts without warning but never fails to get interrupted. It's really not unusual because I'm sure it happens to the average person once a day. It's only unusual to have it written on paper.

This book is unique because it doesn't stay on track. The adventures are definitely something that you would not experience out here in the urban centers. At the same time, Truth and Bright Water is different from something that would take place in the Hundred Acre Wood or Sherwood Forest. The experiences of Tecumseh are modern with difficult solutions and the journey who's path is grey instead of black and white. This novel leaves a different sort of flavour in your mouth. I would definitely not recommend this novel to the happy-go-lucky person who can't handle all the difficulties in the world. There is just too much bitterness. So why would you read this book? It's bittersweet. Prickly on the outside and soft on the inside. I found it really fascinating this boy who wants to care so much for the people around him but everyone thinks he doesn't understand their situation. Tecumseh's narration proves that he understands more than anyone really thinks. So if you are the rebel (or remember your rebel days), I would think that you would find this novel quite the eye-opener. If you are one of those who like to read till your brain has gone to mush, this is one book you would enjoy as well. If you are one of those who think you have too many problems and don't need to think about more, this book is not for you. It's bittersweet and no symphony of grace.

Mystical or Merely Muddy?.......2001-07-05

This novel didn't work well for me. I agree with the other reviewer's praise for Thomas King's great way with language and description. We do indeed get the picture painted of the towns of Truth and Bright Water. The incidents in the story such as the buffalo run where tourists shoot buffalo with paint pellet guns on motorcycles are interesting. I failed to connect with this book because of the lack of resolution in the plot. Tecumseh's mother keeps disappearing for days on end, mysteriously and without explanation. At the end of the book, the only explanation I could come up with was that she was in play rehearsals for Snow White. The irony of Snow White as play produced by Indians is wonderful, but what play rehearsal lasts days; and what mother wouldn't tell her son where she's going? Throughout the novel, we wonder whether Tecumseh's mother and father will reunite. At the conclusion of the novel, this relationship is as fuzzy as it was during the novel; so why did King repeatedly bring it up? We also wonder at the mystery of Aunt Cassie and the suitcase with baby clothes. Is she pregnant? At the end, she burns the clothes and that's all we know about that. Cousin Lum is kicked out of his house by his abusive father Franklin. Neither his aunt nor uncle go and help the boy. They leave him to live under a bridge with wild dogs. Like King, I'm also a Native American hybrid; and I seek out good Native American literature like Eden Robinson's first novel Monkey Beach. This book has great characters, the incidents are interesting, but the plot is like a train that goes nowhere. Was that the point?

Indian History Within Narratored Stories.......2001-01-14

The novel gives us two levels of story. One is narrated by a teenage boy, Tecumseh. The other is a reflection on Indian history. The narrator's name should give the reader a clue. The Cherokees who show up for "Indian Days" (also July 1, Canada Day) are all real characters who lived through the Indian removals we know as "the trail of tears." In Bright Water, they stay at the "Happy Trails Trailer Park." The figure of Monroe Swimmer evokes both President Monroe who initiated the removals policy, and nineteenth-century Cherokee medicine man, Swimmer. Monroe Swimmer is an artist who paints the white men out of the landscape; literally a reversal of Indian removals, with the Indian artist being an active agent this time. There's lots more going on; Geronimo and Truth or Consequences NM and General Nelson Miles for instance. See a forthcoming article in "Canadian Literature" by Robin Ridington for lots more.

Another triumph.......2001-01-04

Quieter than _Green Grass Running Water_, this one hits just as hard. How does Tom King manage to be such a brilliantly complicated master of The Novel (capital letters), while keeping his stories airborne, graceful, surprising? Run right out and buy this one, y'all. It's staggering.

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Truth and Bright Water
Thomas King
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature & Fiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
ASIN: B000VYTP6K

Amazon.com

One of the most acclaimed "science fantasies" ever, Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is a long, magical novel in four volumes. Shadow & Claw contains the first two: The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator, which respectively won the World Fantasy and Nebula Awards.

This is the first-person narrative of Severian, a lowly apprentice torturer blessed and cursed with a photographic memory, whose travels lead him through the marvels of far-future Urth, and who--as revealed near the beginning--eventually becomes his land's sole ruler or Autarch. On the surface it's a colorful story with all the classic ingredients: growing up, adventure, sex, betrayal, murder, exile, battle, monsters, and mysteries to be solved. (Only well into book 2 do we realize what saved Severian's life in chapter 1.) For lovers of literary allusions, they are plenty here: a Dickensian cemetery scene, a torture-engine from Kafka, a wonderful library out of Borges, and familiar fables changed by eons of retelling. Wolfe evokes a chilly sense of time's vastness, with an age-old, much-restored painting of a golden-visored "knight," really an astronaut standing on the moon, and an ancient citadel of metal towers, actually grounded spacecraft. Even the sun is senile and dying, and so Urth needs a new sun.

The Book of the New Sun is almost heartbreakingly good, full of riches and subtleties that improve with each rereading. It is Gene Wolfe's masterpiece. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as "a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis" by Publishers Weekly, and "one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century" by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Shadow amp; Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim.Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Magic stuff . . . a masterpiece . . . the best science fiction I've read in years!"The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny."Arguably the finest piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced [is] the four-volume Book of the New Sun."-Chicago Sun-Times"The Book of the New Sun establishes his preeminence, pure and simple. . . . The Book of the New Sun contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within . . . once into it, there is no stopping."-The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Literary masterpiece?.......2007-10-09

I bought both of the books of the New Sun at once. What a shame. After laboriously reading the first volume, I'm not going to waste my time reading the second one. I think one way that academics and so-called literary types make themselves feel superior is to take confusing, meandering pointless books like this, proclaim them masterpieces and then put themselves on a pedestal and say if you didn't get it, you just don't have the capacity to understand a great literary work.

I see no point to this story. The adventures that Severian has meander all over the place, having no flow, no theme, no plot, and I had to really force myself to finish this book. I read over a hundred books a week, and I have read some "literary classics" that I enjoyed. Some of them were difficult to read, but the story made sense, the character motives could be understood, and eventually I would get drawn in to the story. Not so with this.

Best of genre.......2007-10-09

My first edition paperback came with an encomium by Ursula K. LeGuin on the cover. LeGuin and Wolfe are among the few sci-fi/fantasy writers I feel compelled to re-read every few years. LeGuin once said (in effect) that she wrote not as a prophet of the future, but to explore the human condition by placing her narratives in an alien setting, and Wolfe's work may be viewed best in this context.

Those who find too many loose ends and ambiguities in Wolfe seem to want a neat fantasy adventure, and that is not what Wolfe offers here. Though in form an (anti?) hero's journey, with deep roots back to Homer's Odyssey, it is narrated in the first person. Thus we hear the story from a protagonist who may not feel we require all the background information on his world, and is in any case not omniscient. (Here readers may question the intent of Wolfe's constant iteration of Severian's claim to total memory recall.) The question of personal identity and the "self" is a major theme, which Wolfe handles in a unique fashion from several different aspects. One may note the importance of masks, disguise, play-acting and storytelling in the narrative, though I won't mention Wolfe's more original metaphors, so as not to spoil this for the reader. In the end Severian become the Autarch of the Commonwealth - obviously a metaphorical referent, as Wolfe for once clearly implies, shortly before glossing "autarch" as "the thing itself - the self-ruler". But does he really? (Not to spoil the plot, but this end is revealed early on...)

One may compare Wolfe with Frank Herbert, to name a more well-known and more popular author, but Wolfe is more elusive and open to more varied interpretation.

Though Wolfe's protagonist is a member of the professional guild of torturers, this is not a gratuitously violent book, though set in a rather dark world (as is our own, viewed from a certain perspective.) The few clinical descriptions of torture by Severian are clearly a necessary foil to the other aspects of his character; he is, after all, twice driven from a comfortable position into exile and wandering by acts of mercy, first by granting a merciful death to a "client", then by refusing to perform an execution.

A plot summary of this complex work would be difficult and perhaps futile. In a sense the overall plot is subordinate to the individual episodes of the story. Many elements can be best seen as metaphors, and the referents of those metaphors may be different for different readers, or indeed for the same reader re-reading the book a second time. We are not dealing with relatively simple alegory (as in Swift, for example), which is perhaps why some readers find such difficulties here. Highest recommendation.

Do you like "dense, allusion-rich" prose?.......2007-09-30

I can't recall where I read that description of Wolfe's prose, but it's apt. The writing in this book is dense and full of allusions. Dense like cornbread that's too dry, and murky allusions to things you don't know. If you like your writing foggy and unnecessarily complex, this may be the book for you. Also if you like torture scenes, which I am no fan of.

I hate to be so negative, but that was the case for me with this book. I tried Wolfe because F&SF magazine so highly recommended him, because a number of authors I like (including Gaiman) recommend him, and because I liked his story in F&SF magazine's tribute issue. First I started the Wizard Knight series, and I liked the first book of that fairly well. Then I tried this torturer series, but I found it unpleasant and virtually unreadable. It's just not my cup of tea.

Gaiman likes it; his fans will too........2007-07-26

I felt compelled to renew the idea that readers of Wolfe's work encountering this book for the first time on Gaiman's recommendation should forge ahead--this is good. Incredibly dense, complex and multi-layered, its themes and proto-Victorian style resonate for the Gen-X-influenced-by-the-tail-end-of-New-Wave, Goth-admiring crowd. * Eerily prescient in its anti-big government stance, I would wager Wolfe was working out his own ambivalence towards independence and maturity, using his main character, the Torturer, as a metaphor for the difficulty of a responsible adulthood. (In your thirties, your job isn't to kill people: it just sometimes feels that way.)

* An amusing aside--Wolfe's editor didn't think to take out the word 'delimits', which is generally the province of engineers and math nerds. Apparently that was Wolfe's day job.

A great work of "serious" literature and therein lies the problem..........2007-06-05

I first read the Book of the New Sun as a teenager back in the early 1980s and I must say I understood very little of it except for the basic story. I've now finished reading the series for the 3rd time and my understanding is vastly greater- not due to my greater discernment or maturity, but mainly because I've since read Solar Labyrinth by Robert Borski.

The Book of the New Sun is highly literate puzzle which requires much thought to understand (the real key is to recognize that many of the characters are actually relatives of the protagonist). So why only 3 stars? There are great works of literature that are still highly entertaining and readable-unfortunately, the New Sun isn't one of them. Rather, I'd compare it to something like Moby Dick which I admire but also didn't enjoy reading. I'm glad I've read the book several times (and I've been enriched by the experience), but frankly, it's a book with limited appeal...even many highly-intelligent and literate readers will be put-off by it- I think the main problem is the story isn't grand or epic enough. Also, the puzzles in it require too much thought- reading Solar Labyrinth shocked me in a way because I would never have figured out even half of it on my own. Reading should be entertaining first and foremost- it shouldn't require so much thought with so little pay-off (in the sense that ultimately, the plot doesn't justify all of the complexity nor are the characters likeable enough).

Shadow Claw:First Half of Book of the New Sun

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Shadow Claw:First Half of Book of the New Sun
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000W3ZG86

Shadow and Claw: The First Half of the Book of the New Sun: The Shadow of the Torturer/the Claw of the Conciliator

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Shadow and Claw: The First Half of the Book of the New Sun: The Shadow of the Torturer/the Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTNPEK

Customer Reviews:

A Satisfying Tale That Overcomes it's Faults.......2007-10-08

This is the first novel I've read by Hogan. I was immediately hooked by the premise, and pleasantly surprised that the science held up so well after a decade.
Can't really argue with many of the complaints voiced by other readers, and the book did drag on more than few times. Yes, there were some poorly fleshed-out characters and some vague plot points. I felt the central characters and main plot line were quite intriguing and very well done.
I don't run across many novels that I wish hadn't ended--this was one of them. There doesn't seem to be a sequel, but I'd welcome one gladly.

Promising material, but grindingly dull prose.......2003-11-05

"Paths to Otherwhere" is an example of a book that I wanted to like. The premise of the Many Worlds theory is fascinating, but the storyline is saddled with tired government/scientist cliches and uncompelling characters.

The story is clearly an excuse to explore cutting-edge concepts. No problem there... science fiction is well-populated with works of the type; Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton come to mind. But Hogan's focus is so slanted towards the science that he forgot the story. He is a good author: The Giants/Ganymede series is a memorable work. Hogan unfortunately stumbles here

...

Better than.............2003-05-20

This one is better than Thrice Upon a Time. Hogan still tends to get carried away sometimes with lenghthy explanations and suppositions of the science involved, but not to the exclusion of the plot in this one. This was written many years after Thrice Upon a Time, and it shows. I thought it was an entertaining and enjoyable read.

Good stuff.......2002-08-11

The idea of "parallel universes" is a science-fiction cliche', but Hogan manages to breathe a little fresh air into it with tthis novel. He starts with the assumption that the Many Worlds Interpretation is true, and takes it from there. A team of scientists in this war-torn (and dying) world are able to project their consciousness into their counterparts in one of the infinite number of parallel worlds (what Hogan calls "the Multiverse"). The government, as usual, gets involved, and attempts to screw things up horribly. I believe Hogan to be the finest science-fiction writer alive today, and this novel amply demostrates his talent.

Mind-blowingly cool SF.......2002-08-03

I've been reading James P. Hogan's SF since the late 1970s, when I picked up a copy of his second novel, _The Genesis Machine_. I still haven't read the "Giants" novels, but I've read quite a bit of his other stuff.

He's got a nice range, from hard SF like this book to espionage thrillers like _The Infinity Gambit_ to nonfiction essays on various controversial subjects. (You can read a lot of his nonfiction on his website...)

The emphasis in his science fiction is on "science"; he knows his stuff and the physical theories on which he founds his novels are pretty plausible. He's also got a keen eye for the absolutely mind-blowingingly cool detail: some event that seems entirely ordinary but has such profound implications about the nature of reality that you just put the book down for a moment and go "Wow."...

Since he's one of my two favorite living SF writers and the only one of the two who writes "hard" SF (the other is Spider Robinson), I've lately been trying to figure out where to start reviewing his books. I picked this one because it registers so high on the Mind-Blowing Coolness Meter, but I could really have started anywhere.

No spoilers here: all the details I'm about to divulge appear within the first few pages of the book. Here's the underlying premise: the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics is correct; it's possible for quanta to interfere with their own counterparts along other branches of events; it's also possible for _information_ to be passed from one branch to another, and even from the future to the past, with devices that detect such interference.

One of those mind-blowing details occurs during a test of just such a device: a woman deliberately mistypes a word on a computer keyboard, but it appears correctly on the screen -- _because the quantum interference detector is determining the output by averaging all the possible futures_. Similarly, the woman finds it amazingly easy to draw a perfect circle on the computer screen, because the device averages _out_ the random errors introduced by her and all her counterparts along the other branches of the Multiverse.

That's just a taste of what this novel has in store for you, and it's just background; the plot is even cooler, and I won't spoil it for you. Let it suffice to say that you'll get your mind blown at least once every forty or fifty pages; every time you think Hogan has run out of tricks, he manages to pull out another one. His characters are, if not altogether gripping, at least interesting enough to keep the plot moving (Theo Jantowitz, for example, is a charming academic curmudgeon) and his standard theme -- "good science getting screwed up by government and corporate interests" -- is treated with Hogan's usual realism and flair.

In general it's a well-written and hopeful book that explores a fascinating "rational mysticism" that I sort of hope turns out to be true. (And I'm not sure why a couple of the other reviewers are dissatisfied with Hogan's handling of a certain "moral problem"; in fact it's not only addressed repeatedly but very nicely resolved.)

But again, I just picked this book to review because I had to start _somewhere_... He's all-but-unarguably the finest writer of "hard SF" out there today.

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Paths to Otherwhere Large Print
James P. Hogan
Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J4SY14

Book Description

Doceuments work of the most important names associated with 19th century cameo glass.

Book Description

A patio, covered courtyard or veranda marries the flair of interior design with the themes of outdoor life.Here journalists from Elle Decor magazine have traveled the world over to bring you many exquisite examples of decorating out-of-doors as you begin to realize your own exterior fantasies.Beautiful and charming outdoor settings are displayed throughout Patios and Verandas, introducing a vast array of options for transforming your outdoor space into a haven for your own personal delight.Includes a complete back index with all of the best resources for turning your dreams into reality.

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Patios, Porches, and Verandas (Design)

Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Outdoor & Recreational Areas | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1592532810

Book Description

Whether a house is in the city, out in the country, or near the water, the presence of a patio, a porch or a veranda can provide an important connection between the interior realm of a home and the external context of a residence. Depending on the location, a porch can serve different functions. In the city, it is a refuge from the loud, hectic traffic; in the countryside, it serves as a platform from which to admire the landscape. These spaces, at the border between interior and exterior, can also be used as outdoor dining rooms and sitting rooms, play rooms, or just intermediate ambiences where one can relax and enjoy the surroundings. This volume gathers a selection of international examples of patios, porches, and verandas where the reader will find inspirational design ideas and tips to make the most out of these spaces. Special attention to furniture and plants will help to create great projects.

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Veranda, patio, balkon
Yuliya Popova
Manufacturer: Niola-Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All Russian Books | Russian | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 5366000343

Product Description

"Uzhe ne dom, no esche i ne sad",- eto vyskazyvanie ochen' tochno kharakterizuet takie elementy landshaftno-arkhitekturnogo kompleksa, kak galerei i verandy, balkony, vnutrennie dvoriki i mnogoe drugoe. Ikh nel'zya nazvat' prostym ukrashatel'stvom. Takie perekhodnye elementy vo mnogom pomogayut ob'edinit' arkhitekturu doma i sad v garmonichnoe tseloe. Eta kniga rasskazhet vam o razlichnykh sposobakh dizajna i ozeleneniya perekhodnykh prostranstv, v nej soderzhitsya mnozhestvo illyustratsij i prakticheskikh sovetov. Dlya shirokogo kruga chitatelej.

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Patios, Porches, and Verandas
Ana G. Canizares
Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6BI5C

Book Description

While walking on the beach with his Labrador, poet and literature professor Scott Cairns ran headlong into his midlife crisis. A fairly common experience among men nearing the age of fifty, midlife crises are usually manifested in the form of sports cars and younger women; not so for this Baptist turned Eastern Orthodox. Cairns had a realization that as the advancement of his spiritual life was moving at a snail's pace, time was running out, and his crisis emerged in the form of a desperate need to seek out prayer.

Told with wit and exquisite prose, Slow Pilgrim is the story of Scott's spiritual journey to the mystical island of Mt. Athos. With twenty monasteries and thirteen sketes scattered across its sloping terrain, the Holy Mountain was the perfect place for Scott to seek out a prayer father and to discover the stillness of the true prayer life. His narrative takes the reader from a beach in Virginia to the most holy Orthodox monasteries in the world to a monastery in Arizona and back again as Scott struggles to find his prayer path. His story includes accounts of the relationships he forges with several different monks and priests along the way, as well as life–long friendships he makes with other pilgrims.

Customer Reviews:

A Spiritual and Physical Travelogue.......2007-10-08

In his book, A Short Trip to the Edge, Scott Cairns takes the reader through a series of journeys to the Orthodox holy site and monastic sanctuary Mt. Athos (with a brief side trip to a monastary in Arizona also detailed). The book is a record of Dr. Cairns' journey on two levels. One aspect of the book describes his travels on a purely physical level; the places he goes, the people he encounters, the things he sees and the obstacles he overcomes. Intertwined within this narrative is also the spiritual journey he takes in order to discover how to live a life of prayer and how this is different than having a prayer life. In both attempts the author sets out to record his authentic journey and his honesty and candor are refreshing as is the simplicity with which he tells his story. Unlike many works on Athonite spiritual life or prayer life in the Orthodox tradition, this book tries to keep things on a level that is accessable to someone who is not a monastic.

The first aspect of the book is relatively successful in conveying the author's experience of gong to a place as different from the rest of the world as Mt. Athos while dealing with the intrusions the world inevitably makes on a place it deems has having something it values, even if it keeps that thing at arm's distance. I found the simply humanity of this part of the narrative refreshing enjoyed Cairn's stories of meeting with other pilgrams on the roads and with sharing coffee and tea with the monks of the mountains. Both brought home the theme that this is a place where heaven and earth intersect in very real and powerful ways.

In weaving in the second aspect, Dr. Cairns attempts to introduce us to the traditions and ideas of Eastern prayer and spirituality. It is here that I found that Cairns' ran into difficulty. The author tries very hard to bring out the important ideas and practices of the Eastern Orthodox church in a way that someone who isn't Orthodox might understand. Unfortunately, he is trying to do it in writing about a culture that is anything but understandable in modern North American terms (especially if one is used to the hyper-rationalistic tendancies found in many expressions of the Christian faith today). He does an admirable job explaining the ideas of nous and hesychia but without some background in Orthodoxy, these explanations are likely confusing and imcomplete. Additionally, there is much assumed of the reader regarding an understanding and acceptance of Orthodox worship and monastic practice. Finally, I hate to say it as I expect it will make me sound too parochial, but there's a point where there is just a bit too much Greek. Perhaps those who are used to worshipping in a Greek Orthodox context will not find the language a bit overwhelming.

With these issues in mind, I still found the book to be lively, engaging and challenging. The prose is lovely and wry and it carries the story lightly when it needs to while never trivializing the struggles the author is undergoing on his journeys both spiritually and logistically. The subject matter asked me to examine my own thoughts about prayer, spiritual mentorship and living my faith in powerful ways. Additionally, I found the authenticity of this travelogue, especially where Cairns' shares his last journey to Mt. Athos with his son, truly moving. I would recommend this book without reservation to those with some background in or understanding of Orthodox spirituality. For those who lack such a background, much of the book will seem strange and unfamiliar and the material may require a good bit more work to access. That having been said , the ideas regarding prayer being something we live are well worth the effort should the reader be willing to undertake the journey.

Journey to the End!.......2007-10-05

Reading this book is a pilgrimage in itself. After l listened to an interview with the author, I was intrigued and excited about reading the book's novel approach to Mt. Athos. The majority of the books published on the topic are either for academic study or seminal interest. The book is basically, a regular Joe's travel journal about his experiences on the Holy Mountain.

After reading the first 80 pages or so, I thought what a waste of my time and money. Pages and pages were full of numerous details about rustic roads, and gripes about waiting for free hospitality at overcrowded monasteries. The book is missing a full account of details about these unique places, I found this disappointing. I seriously thought about recycling the book before I finished it.

Cairns' struggles with the book parallels his search for a spiritual father. There appears to be many dead ends on different levels with the text itself and his journeys. Surprisingly, the last 50 pages or so made the initial time spent, worthwhile. I have never been moved to tears on different occasions by a book before, his self revealing insights after numerous frustrations are very enlightening. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a challenge. In the book, Cairns transports the reader along with his own ups and downs to arrive to the beauty that is beyond the landscapes, and the treasures of the Holy Mountain.

Long trip to nowhere .......2007-04-12

Ever since reading "The Holy Mountain" by Kyriacos Markides, I've been fascinated by the monks who live in the ancient monasteries of Greece, so I bought this book with great anticipation, and finished the first chapter before I ever left the bookstore.

But I'm sorry to say that Short Trip To The Edge quickly stalled. Cairnes is by many accounts a fine Christian poet, but his writing here is surprisingly unpoetic and at times redundant as we're told in almost every chapter that an experience is "palpable" or "sweet." We don't need to be told every time he stopped to "venerate the icons."

But most annoying is Cairnes' neurotic, self-absorbed quest to find a spiritual father who can help him develop a life of prayer. He makes three trips to Greece, and one visit to a monastery in Arizona to find the elusive father, but comes up empty.

Most Christians struggle in their prayer life and I do appreciate Cairne's honesty, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he took the focus off himself. Never once does he ponder Jesus' command to serve others.

Is journeying to Mt. Athos three times to find a spiritual father what Jesus had in mind when he said "take up your cross and follow me"? Cairnes seems to think that the goal of a Christian life is to "find peace." I almost felt sorry for him as he describes waiting hours for a meeting with a potential spiritual father, only to be given some flippant advice.

Short Trip To The Edge is a case study in the dangers of idolotry. Despite the subtitle of the book, Cairne's story makes clear that no place on earth will ever resemble Heaven.

A glimpse of heaven with earth mixed in.......2007-03-04

Since I am a woman, I cannot personally reap the spiritual benefits of a pilgrimage to Mt. Athos. However, Scott Cairns' account of his visits to the Holy Mountain during his sabbatical year as a professor at the Univ. of Missouri allowed me to vicariously experience what it must be like for an Orthodox convert to go there. He describes the good, the bad, and the ineffably divine of what it is like for a modern-day pilgrim to pay a visit to the heart of Orthodox monasticism. The focus of his pilgrimage is his endeavor to find a spiritual father who can guide him in how to grow closer to God, specifically through the Jesus Prayer.
Cairns deftly interweaves the physical realities and legalities ("Let that be a lesson for somebody") of getting there and getting around while, at the same time, describing his impressions and feelings about finally arriving at The Mountain. His gifts as a poet allow him to find the perfect word to capture his experience or the description of his environment.
There are humorous but instructive moments, such as when he and his friend Nick decide to walk to a monastery rather than ride in a vehicle, or when he describes a pilgrim he calls "the sheriff" who demands that everyone follow the rules while eating. There are also glimpses of the meeting of Heaven and Earth on Mt. Athos as Cairns describes kissing the warm left hand of St. Mary Magdalene, the spice-scented foot of St. Anne (accompanied by "a curious sweetness, a warming of the heart") and the fragrant brow of the skull of St. Andrew.
I was helped in my own spiritual journey by Cairns' complete honesty. He describes the time when he was finally able to have a moment with an elder and feels like he made a mistake by asking the wrong question. He also writes of other situations that an Orthodox convert might find embarrassing when centuries-old protocol has been breached. I could relate.
Cairns finds much guidance towards what he is seeking, and his journey is instructive for anyone who is also trying to draw closer to God. (A similar account is "The Mountain of Silence" by Kyriacos C. Markides," another contemporary writer.) My only disappointment is that this book was not twice as long. Maybe more visits by Cairns to the Holy Mountain will produce a sequel?

Where Heaven And Earth Meet: The Art Of Xu Bing And Cai Guo-Qiang

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Where Heaven And Earth Meet: The Art Of Xu Bing And Cai Guo-Qiang
Xu Bing , Cai Guo-qiang , and Zhang Zhaohui
Manufacturer: Timezone 8
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9889808668
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Book Description

This book documents an exhibition entitled Where Heaven Meets Earth, comprising works by atists Xu Bing and Cai Guo-Qiang. Bing is known for his bold, calligraphic, teasing, thought-provoking pieces that challenge preconceptions about written communication; while Guo-Qiang's approach draws on a wide variety of symbols, narratives, traditions, and materials such as feng shui, Chinese medicine, dragons, roller coasters, computers, vending machines, and gunpowder. Curated by Zhang Zhaohui, the exhibition was staged in the Art Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Also included here are recent pieces by the two artists, and an essay on their careers. A critical look at the works of two of the most internationally important and prominent artists from China.

Where Heaven and Mountains Meet: Zanskar and the Himalayas

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Where Heaven and Mountains Meet: Zanskar and the Himalayas
Olivier Follmi
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0500019541

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Deep in the heart of the Himalayas, isolated from the outside world by snow for nine months of the year, the ancient kingdom of Zanskar seems light years away from the modern world and its inhabitants. Olivier Follmi and his wife, Danielle, have made numerous trips to Zanskar over the past twenty years, the results of which are eloquently revealed in this volume. Breathtaking photographs and a moving text combine to record the rites and customs of an exceptional people, enriched by traditional wisdom, in a Buddhist land where religion and its observance define a way of life.

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Where heaven and earth meet
Harold E Kohn
Manufacturer: Tidings
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Binding: Unknown Binding

Where Earth Meets Heaven: Seeing God in Your Life

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Start seeing heaven in your own surroundings

Where Earth Meets Heaven: Seeing God in Your Life
Kenneth Rolheiser
Manufacturer: Saint Anthony Messenger Press and Franciscan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0867165782

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Start seeing heaven in your own surroundings.......2005-02-15

By sharing this compilation of first person essays and thoughts, author Ken Rolheiser gives his reader an insight into his soul and a thought provoking prompt towards a deepening spiritual life. The fifteen chapters of the book take a look at a broad cross section of topics, from prayer to the afterlife to liturgical seasons.

One of my favorite sections was the chapter on marriage and family life, which is easily related to by many readers. Rolheiser has an ability to share his thoughts and ideas in an open manner without preaching. I left my experience of reading this book with the urge to look around my own slice of heaven on earth and to do more to be Christ to others and to embrace the everyday joys of life. Very inspirational!

Mount Shasta...: Where Heaven and Earth Meet

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Mount Shasta...: Where Heaven and Earth Meet

Manufacturer: Earth Heart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0934747075

Book Description

Towering 14,162 feet above far northern California, Mount Shasta is a landmark comparable to Japan's Mount Fujiyama. Home to California's largest glacier, it is one of the volcanos of the Cascade Range, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

This book paints two pictures: a portrait of the many faces and moods of Mount Shasta and a "human mosaic" of writings by, interviews with and pictures of people who have many diverse perspectives on this magnificent mountain. Those who hold the book in their hands will see awesome storm clouds, rainbows and brilliant sunny days; they will hear from people whose words reflect precisely their own feelings about the mountain, and from people whose thoughts could not sound more alien.

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Towering 14,162 feet above sea level in far northern California, Mount Shasta is a landmark comparable to Japan's Mount Fuji. Home to California's largest glacier, it is also one of the volcanoes of the Cascade Range, part of the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire." For the Mount Shasta 2008 wall calendar, Jane English has assembled a stunning collection of her own photography, as well as images by other photographers, and paired them with inspirational writings that give diverse perspectives on this magnificent mountain.

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