Average customer rating:
- A cross-genre novel: literary horror
- A Must Read
- Interesting, but wholly unsucessful
|
Soul Resin
Charles W. Cannon
Manufacturer: Fiction Collective 2
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 United States
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 157366099X |
Customer Reviews:
A cross-genre novel: literary horror.......2003-07-25
C. W. Cannon sets up an intriguing premise in SOUL RESIN, his first and ambitious novel. A disaffected college dropout, Mills Loomis Mills, develops the ability to hear bleeding, even from a distance, and to sense death. This "talent" intensifies after the brutal murder of his girlfriend April. He finds himself visited by a headless man who speaks of soul resin, a mysteriously powerful material derived from the aged and undisturbed of a murder victim. Once unambitious, Mills is now obsessed with activating the special properties of soul resin. Meanwhile, Mills's former history professor, Rafe Vidrine, has been contacted by a long-dead New Orleans woman, Jessamine, who wants Mills's search for soul resin halted. Cannon switches with adroitness between the voices of these characters and a few others, including (pseudo)historical accounts, lending a multi-layered texture to the novel. The themes revolve around the history of race relations and politics in New Orleans and their implications for residents of the present day, as well as the question of delineating between dead and alive, past and present.
Slow to begin and even slower to clarify itself, SOUL RESIN eventually reaches a level of tension that drives the book inexorably towards its conclusion. At times, voices merge, then diverge, demanding concentration on the part of the reader. By the end, every technical choice Cannon makes becomes clear. My main complaint with the book is the author's occasional tendency to dip too far into his esoteric theories of the dead. Because of this, the ending itself emerges as too finely constructed, too forced around the author's intent, to be fully satisfying. However, the meat of the novel is excellent - bloody decay presented in a startlingly original manner. Ghosts have past lives and agendas, some stronger than those of the living, and the "real" characters seem at their mercy. Once readers get into this story, they won't be able to put it down.
I don't recommend this book for casual readers and those hungry for Stephen King-like horror. SOUL RESIN is an intellectually challenging book that is electrified with a sensationalist plot. Serious readers, especially those who admire experimental works, will enjoy their introduction to this fine writer.
A Must Read.......2003-01-15
I was compelled to write a review after reading another review of this book at this site. I think the previous reviewer missed some of the point of this extraordinary novel. It may have failed if you are just looking for junk-food horror, but this novel is so much more. More Faulkner than King. It takes the best of historical fiction, ghost story, and New Orleans and cooks it up into one of the best books I've read all year. Jesamine is one of my all time favorite female characters. As to horror, I was scared to read this book at night, alone in my house. I live in an amazing city. This novel taps into something true about New Orleans. If you love this city you can't help but love this novel. This is the kind of book that you would love to see as a movie, but your afraid some director would mess it up.
Interesting, but wholly unsucessful.......2003-01-03
There is much to like about this book. Cannon's technical achievement of shifting through multiple voices (four point of view characters along with newspaper and historical articles) is impressive, as are a few of the ideas he plays with. While effective, this technique could prove difficult and confusing for some readers.
Essentially, Mills Loomis Mills, a college history student dropout, plays with supernatural forces that he believes will bring about overall good and understanding. The reader quickly learns that Mills may be incorrect, that he may in fact cause irrepairable damage to both the supernatural and real worlds. Cannon also presents many interesting bits of culture and history of New Orleans that those outside the south may not be aware of.
Unfortunately, it reads in many ways like a novella an agent or publisher pushed into a novel length work. The first 150 pages are primarily setup, and could be easily condensed into half the length. The story does not really take off until that point, when a history professor in contact with the spirit world confronts Mills with another side of thinking. The final climax, although a little predictable, does work well but could have been punched up a bit more by laying out a sense of more lasting effects.
Cannon's primary focus seems to have been the fine tuning of the voices and poetry of his words at the detriment of the overall plot, arc and ideas within the work as a whole. While I applaud Cannon for attempting to play with the ghost/horror/dark fantasy story, there is much he could have learned by emulating some of the ideas of less experimental writers like Constantine, Brite or (dare I say it) King.
Customer Reviews:
Great Effort.......2005-09-20
This is the finest post TSR work written by Mr. Gygax. The short stories that make up this collection are all fun, and help fully flesh out the Gord the Rogue character introduced first in the Greyhawk novels Saga of Old City and Artifact of Evil. Several complete novels followed this collection, though none were as fun as this one to read.
Good book of short stories.......2005-04-27
This book helps to flesh out Gord as a carouser and rogue. The stories are often comical yet Gygax is able to successfully build suspense nonetheless. This is required reading for any D&D fan (or anyone that likes fantasy, for that matter).
Wonderful collection of short stories throughout Greyhawk.......2000-06-20
This is one of the rare books in Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series. Although begun with TSR (with the release of Artifact of Evil and Saga of Old City), when Gygax was unceremoniously removed from the company, he took his finest creation with him. This one is interesting because instead of being a single tale, the book is divided into 9 short stories, each highlighting a different time and place in Gord's illustrious career. In The Heart of Darkness, Gord and Chert plunge into the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk; in Cats vs. Rats, the Thieves Guild of Greyhawk is thrown into chaos, with highly amusing results; and in A Revel in Rel Mord, Gord finds himself preyed upon by a sinister circle of Night Hags. Each story is a wonderful slice of Greyhawk lore; lots of details of the monsters, locations, and personalities of this famous world are revealed at every turn - lore which you can't find in any other book! And of course, readers can delight in the master himself, as we finally get to see how an AD&D adventure game should *really* be played. Although a bit disorienting to anyone not intimately familiar with the saga of Gord the Rogue, Night Arrant receives my utmost recommendation. It's that good!
Customer Reviews:
Mick's dark vision of the basic cussedness of Mankind........1999-02-26
Set in the far far future, this is more of Mick's dim vision of the inherent cussedness of Mankind as a species. Told from the (semi-biographical?)perspective of a professional gambler, this is a highly entertaining 2-part tale of misadventures in the far future Earth of isolated cities and decadent magnificence. Basically a travelogue wrapped around a convincing and entertaining plot-line, Mick offers the reader a peerless trip down a parallel, possible future. Mick seldom disappoints, and I buy his books on strength that HE wrote it, and I have always been richly entertained, and this is no exception. We want more MICK! We want more MICK! We want more MICK!
Visit Mick's webpage
http://www.thanatosoft.freeserve.co.uk/
Customer Reviews:
a book for background.......2004-05-19
The world is interesting, but the character might be more interesting. Unfortunately he travels across the world and among several different elements of society somewhat passively. We start with him gambling, see a few of his observational insights, and we end with him leaving a gambling table (though not as interesting as the first scene), but the rest of the time our hero is more of a reluctant fighter and sexual opportunist than a gambler. His travels become the excuse to put the world on display. Tension between the classes of society are built up but unresolved. In what passes for adventure our hero keeps pulling off snap shots and escaping, traveling once again to another part of the world until some crisis moves him on. The conclusion of this book must be in the sequel because it was not in this one... but I don't care to finish it.
And who said that guns weren't fun?.......1999-05-06
There are many different views upon the validity of science fiction being placed within the literature "halls of fame". However, this book and many others written by Mick Farren place a great deal of extra weight behind the punches that sci fi is throwing. Either way. personally I couldn't give a damn, so long as it keeps coming .
Average customer rating:
|
The Song of Phaid the Gambler
Mick Farren
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton General Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0450053431 |
Book Description
The Masters and the Slaves theorizes the interface of plantation relations with nationalist projects throughout the Americas. In readings that cover a wide range of genres--from essays and scientific writing to poetry, memoirs and the visual arts--this work investigates the post-slavery discourses of Brazil, the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Martinique. Indebted to Orlando Patterson's Slavery and Social Death (1982) and Paul Gilroy's The Black Atlantic (1993), these essays fill a void in studies of plantation power relations for their comparative, interdisciplinary approach and their investment in reading slavery through the gaze of contemporary theory, with particularly strong ties to psychoanalytic and gender studies interrogations of desire and performativity.
Average customer rating:
|
Los Nuevos Amos de la Esclavitud (New Slave Masters)
George McKinney
Manufacturer: Vida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
Vida Cristiana
| Cristianismo
| Religión y espiritualidad
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Asuntos de la Mujer
| Discipulado
| Fe
| Liderazgo
| Negocios
| Relaciones Personales
Vida CristianaGeneral
| Cristianismo
| Religión y espiritualidad
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Cristianismo
| Religión y espiritualidad
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 0829746617 |
Book Description
Spanish Edition: This book is a wake-up call to America. In a cultural debate that frequently becomes a blame game in which races fault one another for
the evils of society, Bishop McKinney presents an inspired message that dares to place the blame exactly where it belongs, at the root of all evil.
Average customer rating:
|
The New Slave Masters
George D. McKinney
Manufacturer: Cook Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Tribal & Ethnic
| Other Practices
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Covenant with Black America
ASIN: 0781440602 |
Book Description
First, some disturbing facts: Innercity families often look like puzzles with pieces missing - 7 out of 10 African American children are born outside an intact family. In the absence of caring families, kids seek adoption by gangs, pimps, and drug dealers. Family relationships are torn apart by the new masters of drugs and violence. By age 10 or 11, most children have seen enough of their friends or family members die that they cannot imagine themselves living to the ripe old age of 21! Desperate for love and to fit in, young girls become pregnant and end up raising their children alone. When their children fail, grandparents raise their grandchildren, or older siblings try to raise younger siblings. One at a time, these issues alone cause serious wrinkles in the fabric of society - but they, themselves, are not the ultimate problem. There are forces at work to end the family, as we know it, perhaps even beginning with the African American family, which has survived through faith in God and which has been instrumental in preserving the Christian faith in America as a whole. About "The New Slavemasters": It's slavery all over again. And Bishop McKinney is calling for a new kind of freedom from The New Slavemasters. This book exposes the slavemasters as Drugs, Gangs, Violence and Sexual Promiscuity, among others. These forces are rooted in all things evil, and their primary goal is the destruction of the family. This book is an inspiration for every person of every race to recognize the bondage and break the chains that are destroying our entire nation!
Customer Reviews:
the voice of experience.......2006-11-23
Bishop George McKinney addresses the African-American community via a powerful and generative metaphor: just as literal slave masters once held his people in servitude in this country (the United States of America), so modern slave masters who look nothing like the ancient institution that counted human beings as property seek to reduce black Americans to a kind of bondage that is capable of just as much destructive force.
(Full disclosure: this reviewer is privileged to be a friend of the author.)
Yet it would be mistaken to infer that Bishop McKinney's contribution to the pastoral care of his people (and others) is all about rhetoric. To the contrary, he has served faithfully and productively as both pastor and bishop in, respectively, San Diego's St. Stephens Church of God in Christ and one of the largest predominantly African-American denominations in America.
All this shows.
Bishop McKinney is a master story-teller and is not stingy with his craft. His exploration of biblical models for individual reconstruction, redemptive family life, and community restoration is peppered with stories that emerge from a pastor's long-term care of his flock.
The reader will quickly discern that satisfying the dictates of political correctness is not high on the author's list of priorities. Rather, with clarity that may well deserve the label 'prophetic', he recognizes the perils of abortion and the inherent deficiencies in single parenting, even as his language conveys that concern which is realistic without judgment and forward-looking without neglect of the concrete particularities of the African-American community's situation in our time.
Bishop McKinney has no time for the subtext of victimization. Without for one moment flinching from the violence to which his people was subjugated--indeed many of his chapters begin with excerpts from the chronicles of slavery--the author resolutely prods his reader to embrace a future that no victim's tale will create.
Courage. Resolution. Self-abnegation. These are the virtues to which the author believes Christian faith calls his people in a moment when history has dealt them a difficult hand to play. He writes--as he preaches--from within that great tradition of learned Black community leadership that finds its precedent in figures like Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet his gaze is most resolutely cast upon the Nazarene and the apostle Paul as on any other.
That, and the profoundly needy San Diego that surrounds the property of St. Stephen's outward-focused headquarters.
Karl Barth taught us to read the Bible with the newspaper in the other hand. George McKinney is one step closer to the trauma and the deliverance that form the shape of his people: he need only look out the window.
Average customer rating:
|
Changing Masters: Spirit Possession and Identity Construction among the Descendants of Slaves in the Sudan (Islam and Society in Africa)
G. P. Makris
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Ethnic Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Islam
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| New Age
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Cults & Demonism
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Metaphysical Phenomena
| Occult
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
African Studies
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0810116987 |
Average customer rating:
|
Inventing New England's Slave Paradise : Master/Slave Relations in Eighteenth Century Narragansett, Rhode Island (Studies in African American History and Culture)
Robert K. Fitts
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
General
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Rhode Island
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Northeast
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
History
| African Americans
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
African-American Studies
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Imperialism & Independence
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0815332807 |
Book Description
Many 19th and 20th century historians have argued that Northern slavery was mild and that master/slave relations were relatively harmonious. Yet, Northern slavery, like Southern, was characterized by the conflict between the masters' desire to control their slaves and the slaves' resistance to this domination. For a variety of political, social, and intellectual reasons, 19th and 20th century historians ignored this inherent conflict in discussions of Northern slavery. Fitts' research focuses on how and why historians sanitized the history of slavery in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and then shows the inadequacy of these interpretations by examining several of the planters' and slaves' conflicting strategies of control and resistance.
Topics include how planters used physical punishment, legislation, and the threat of sale in an attempt to control their slaves, and how slaves resisted through violence, running away, and non-violent crime. Fitts also examines the plantation landscape as a site of symbolic contestation and includes a chapter on slave names.
(Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, 1995; revised with new preface)
Book Description
A full year of special teatime ideas from Emilie Barnes invites the blessing of friendship into readers’ home every month. Each special theme includes tempting recipes, ideas for décor, and delightful details about the story of tea. These 12 ready–to–plan parties place friendship as the centerpiece for every celebration:
- Start the new year off right: A Celebration of Beginnings
- Chocolate brings friends together: A Celebration of Sweet Pleasures
- Mothers are queen for the day: A Celebration of Women
As she did for the popular The Twelve Teas® of Friendship, artist Susan Rios accompanies Emilie’s inspiration with new paintings of tea services and idyllic settings that invite the reader to create memories of good cheer with a friend.
Book Description
This volume pictorially documents many of the outstanding textiles used in homes from the 1930s to the 1950s. Barkcloth, a type of dense, textured cotton weave, was often used in draperies or slipcovers of the era. In recent years, barkcloth has enjoyed a renaissance, now seen covering photo albums, hat boxes, vintage luggage, lampshades, purses, and pillows. More and more modern designers are using vintage barkcloth as inspiration for today's textiles. With over 200 color photographs, this book showcases the beautiful array of patterns, colors, and motifs used on authentic, old barkcloth. It is a valuable resource for designers and all who enjoy these wonderful fabrics.
Average customer rating:
|
State and Society in Fatimid Egypt (Arab History and Civilization : Studies and Texts, Vol. 1)
Yaacov Lev
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Interior Design
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Africa
| Ancient
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Egypt
| Middle East
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Middle East
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Islamic
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Egypt
| Africa
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Interior Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9004093443 |
Book Description
Fatimid history is a chapter of both Mediterranean and Islamic history. In the period covered by the book (10th-12th centuries) profound changes took place in the Eastern Mediterranean affecting the history of the region. Divided into three parts this study deals with the political history of the Fatimid period, the structure of the Fatimid state and the interplay between state and society. The book is a contribution to the study of Islamic military history addressing such topics as: the formation and upkeep of black slave armies, the role of Christian-Armenian troops in twelfth-century Egypt and military and naval aspects of the Fatimid wars with the Crusaders. Other topics examined are the internal policies of the Fatimid state: notably, among them, the religious policies of the Fatimid regime, the involvement of the state in the urban life of the Fatimid capital city, Fustat-Cairo, and Fatimid attitudes toward non-Muslim communities.
Book Description
63 engravings and a woodcut made from the drawings of the 16th-century Flemish master: landscapes, seascapes, stately ships, drolleries, whimsical allegories, scenes from the Gospels and much more. Stimulating commentaries by H. Arthur Klein on individual prints, bits of biography on etcher or engraver and comparisons with Bruegel’s original designs.
Book Description
Enlightenment Blues is Andre van der Braak's compelling first hand account of his relationship with a prominent spiritual teacher. It chronicles both the author's spiritual journey and disenchantment as well the development of a missionary and controversial community around the teacher. It powerfully exposes the problems and necessities of disentanglement from a spiritual path.
"Enlightenment Blues is the account of a young man's sincere and protracted struggle to transform his life according to the teachings of the American guru Andrew Cohen. Ruthlessly honest and unsettling, Andre van der Braak gives a vivid first-hand account of an uncompromising experiment in establishing Indian spirituality in a modern Western setting. This story is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the allure and pitfalls of surrendering one's authority in the hope of spiritually transforming the world" Stephen Batchelor, Author Buddhism without Beliefs
"Narrated with the psychological subtlety and drama of a good novel, Enlightenment Blues is a precise, profound dissection of the guru-devotee relationship. It should be required reading for all who are currently engaged in or considering studying under a spiritual teacher." John Horgan, author of Rational Mysticism
"A profound contribution. The maturity and balance of this book place it at the front rank of works on contemporary spirituality. All the major themes of the spiritual quest are here - reason versus emotion, the problem of the ego, the guru, self-doubt, the place of altered states. Andre van der Braak has the creative gift of being able to hold opposing ideas in his mind without moving towards premature closure. Hence this heartfelt account of his eleven years in the Cohen movement is a beautiful testament to one man's quest to discover his own reality. Enlightenment Blues deserves the widest readership." Len Oakes, Prophetic Charisma
"Enlightenment Blues is the personal story of one man's eleven year journey into and out of a group of seekers of enlightenment with a charismatic leader who claims to be an exemplar of perfection. What distinguishes this book are the writer's insights and honesty in portraying the workings of an authoritarian belief system that operates under the guise of spiritual revelations. Anyone who has ever belonged to such a group, or knows anyone who has, or who wants to understand what the appeals and dangers of surrendering to a guru consist of, would benefit from reading this book." Joel Kramer, author, The Guru Papers
"Andre van der Braak's story is our own story. We walked the 'yellow brick road' whether it was Zen or Yoga or Advaita. We desperately wished for or found a Guru who could help us find our way home and we wholly gave ourselves. Andre's talk of it is fresh and innocent. He takes us by the hand through a hazardous trail. Neither bitter nor estranged, nor having lost his passion for the way, he remembers with us what really happened, and why." Orit Sen-Gupta, Author, Dancing the Body of Light – The Future of Yoga
Andre van der Braak lived in Andrew Cohen's spiritual community for 11 years, an involvement initiated shortly after Cohen had begun teaching. He was one of the original editors for "What is Enlightenment Magazine". He was also an editor for Cohen's first teaching text, Enlightenment is a Secret, which entailed reading over 4,000 pages of transcribed talks, and editing them into book form.
Today, he lives in Amsterdam where he teaches philosophy at the University of Amsterdam and at Luzac College in Alkmaar.
Customer Reviews:
The Dichotomous Ashram.......2007-05-18
Enlightenment Blues is a chronicle of eleven years with Andrew Cohen. The author came to a place in his spiritual search where he was disillusioned with his Buddhist meditation practice. He met Andrew, fell into deep love, and surrendered. "(Andrew) seemed to possess an uncanny ability to transmit a deep glimpse of enlightenment, inspiring people to leave everything behind and become his disciples. Thousands of people still full of hope and longing flocked to see him."
Life afterward played-out in an atmosphere rich in ideals. The qualities of higher level consciousness -- love - truth - transformation -- were constantly impressed upon the followers. Cohen was lovable, charismatic, driven, smart, enlightened, and immensely capable of speaking about enlightenment and his vision of transformation.
Yet attainment of the higher qualities could only be achieved through control of devotees via lower level consciousness: humiliation, contempt, blame, rigidity, punishment, exploitation, pettiness, and paranoia. Such is the dichotomous Ashram: using the lower to achieve the higher. The examples range from initiation and forced termination of relationships, to the singling out and humiliation of all the women, to destruction of property, to the forced extraction of two million dollars from one student, 80% of her net worth. There is one such incident after another described in this book. It is a record of the misuse of power. It is experienced by the reader through van der Braak in a work that is honest, without a hint of self-pity (in fact, mild gratitude), and utterly engaging.
This book will give intimate and realistic insights to anyone having a relationship with a Guru, whether the degree of involvement is committed and formal, or as casual as an encounter on an email discussion forum. In these days where there are relatively many gurus and teachers of nonduality, and where they are so easily accessible via the internet, seekers of spiritual development would find it valuable to be opened to the possibility that gurus are no different in their behaviour than any other person. Dr. Harsha K. Luthar, the founder of HarshaSatsangh ([...]), after reading an early version of this review, commented in a private email reproduced with his permission:
"All of these things -- abuse, aggression, humiliation, scorn, superior positioning, manic behavior, belligerence, dictatorial leadership, .....are part of human nature. Therefore they are present to some degree here and everywhere. We only recognize these things in others because they are present in us. They are present in the human condition. These are present in many of the so called gurus. Wisdom calls for awareness and offering of compassion for ourselves and others.
According to our scriptures and ancient sages and teachers of the last 5000 years, Self Realization manifests in the world as gentleness, amity, and good will towards all. All yogic texts, including Patanjali's yoga sutras proclaim clearly that nonviolence is the supreme principle. From that perspective, (a declaration of) enlightenment (from any guru) need not be accepted as a license for legitimizing violence, abuse, and control of others."
The author, Andre van der Braak, possesses the wisdom about which Dr. Luthar speaks, not that it matured easily: "The writing of this book has been a sobering process of soul-searching, of delving into some moments which were extremely painful, of redefining and understanding not only these eleven long years, but also my basic philosophy of life, my ideals. I don't feel personally angry anymore with Andrew or his community. Although I see Andrew's shortcomings more clearly and soberly, his adolescent all-or-nothing mentality, his need for affirmation and power, I feel no need to go on a crusade against him."
This story is told with a breathtaking ease of flow -- from the highs of Andrew's love and attention, through the declines initiated by doubt, and into the troughs of abuse, then the ascent back into the presence of Andrew's favour and light -- that testifies to van der Braak's wisdom, compassion, and ability as a memoirist.
Finally, after ten years with Andrew, the author realized, "In the beginning it was effortless; I felt intimacy, love, and passion. Now it feels like I'm just trying to please him, trying to prove something, show myself to be a good student. With a shock I realize that I'm actually afraid of him. I've experienced too often how he holds my fate in his hands and that staying on his good side is crucial for survival."
Within a year, van der Braak left Andrew Cohen and the community, but not before Andrew menacingly called him "evil." "I can't believe that someone who calls me evil has the best intentions for me," van der Braak writes. This was followed by several weeks of separation which was characterized by messages from Andrew in which he made appalling suggestions in an effort to win van der Braak back, conversations with his long time friend Harry, and a stunning 15-page report of conversations with Marianne, his live-in partner, which serves to summarize the misuse of power. In the latter conversations, Marianne absolutely defends every action of Andrew, while van der Braak offers his perspective. The author does not take the easy way out in reporting these conversations. He would seem to represent Marianne's side well: "You're just indulging in your anger and your cynicism," she says bitterly. "Why do you have to damage all the love? Can't you just humbly accept that it was too much for you without needing to throw dirt on Andrew?"
Van der Braak left Andrew and spent five years writing Enlightenment Blues. The Epilogue is a look back at the years with Andrew: "When people ask me whether I feel I've wasted eleven years of my life with Andrew, I tell them I wouldn't want to have missed them. I went for the greatest adventure I can imagine, the journey towards love and truth, and I sacrificed everything for it. It took me a long time to learn my lessons, but I'm sure that nothing was wasted."
This is excellent reading for anyone involved in any way with gurus and teachers of nonduality. Especially those who are active on the internet discussion groups and encountering self-proclaimed gurus, will find this book insightful.
While one will become immersed in Enlightenment Blues as though it were an excellent novel, the reader might want to close the book from time to time and feel the breeze of reality, the place where one is at, a place refreshingly free of the lows and highs of the dichotomous ashram.
Jerry Katz
One: Essential Writings on Nonduality
Portrait of an ashram as a severely dysfunctional family.......2007-04-27
I opened this book expecting yet another juicy expose of a corrupt cult leader who got rich ripping off his followers, seduced all his female followers, etc. What I found was something much more subtle, complex, and insightful -- something probably far more representative of the inner workings of many religious movements that follow charismatic leaders.
The portrait of guru Andrew Cohen is NOT that of a corrupt and phoney leader out to exploit people for his own gain. Quite the contrary, through van der Braak's account, though it focuses entirely on his own feelings and experiences, I felt sympathy for Cohen as a sincere man struggling with his own pain and frustration, and taking his frustrations out on his followers much as some parents take their personal frustrations out on their children.
The children, the followers, originally come seeking to attain the Enlightened state that their guru represents, but "attaining enlightenment" becomes implicitly defined as "attaining the guru's praise, approval, and acceptance." The followers live for their leader's praise and approval, their life is centered on craving his approval -- like children craving a parent's love. They compete with one another for his approval. They live in fear of being rejected by him and expelled, which they see happen to some members -- like a woman who, doing kitchen shift, complained about the constant work and lack of free time, and at the end of her shift found all her belongings thrown out the window and herself homeless.
Cohen is continually frustrated at his children's "failure" to attain Enlightenment, and it is always THEIR fault, their bad karma, their stubborn egos -- so the solution is to break down their egos with yet more verbal excoriation, emotional humiliation, and meaningless tasks to prove their devotion. And when that fails, it is not because may this is not an effective method of teaching -- it failed because there wasn't ENOUGH abuse and humiliation, and the failure is of course the students' fault. Cohen seems to ward off his own self-doubt and self-questioning by projecting them as the failures of his followers. The "ego-less" guru cannot handle questioning, doubts, or any hint of criticism from his followers; that seems to be his only fortress against questioning or doubting himself.
This is a portrait of a "cult" not as a group of crazies or fanatics or accumulators of arsenals or victims of financial and sexual exploitation, but as a painfully dysfunctional family, a model which seems especially prevalent in religious movements based on Hindu traditions that explicitly encourage worshipping one's guru. As such, although it is no great work of literature, it is to my knowledge a unique document, potentially of greatest value to anyone contemplating following a guru. It could help one to ask the right questions.
Another guru's fall from grace.......2006-07-04
This book is a fascinating account of what people will do and believe when under the influence of a charismatic leader. I have read other books by former followers of gurus such as Osho (Rajneesh) and Chogyam Trumgpa , but Andre van der Braak's is probably the most compellingly written. I had heard of Andrew Cohen as a writer of spiritual books, but I had not known that he was a cultlike guru. This book, as well as any other, confronts the age-old problem for spiritual seekers --should you place your complete trust in someone you regard as enlightened? Furthermore, how can you judge whether the master really is enlightened, and if his bizarre tactics are a form of "crazy wisdom" (see another good book by that name, which talks about several other guru figures) or merely expressions of mundane neuroses and power trips? From what I've read in Enlightenment Blues (and, since then, elsewhere), it seems that Andrew Cohen is, at best, someone who lost sight of any enlightenment he may have found, becoming intoxicated with the taste of power. Accounts such as this seem to suggest that enlightenment is not a permanent state, but something glimpsed at. Rarely, some may hold on to it, but it is easy to lose it and having many adoring and obedient students is apparently one of the easier ways to lose it. Andrew Cohen's own mother (who is mentioned by van der Braak) has written a book extremely critical of him, entitled The Mother of God.
Van der Braak describes his meeting of Cohen as something akin to falling in love. Along with many other students around the world, Cohen's simple and powerful message that enlightenment is available to us all the time was very persuasive. More importantly, Cohen seemed to perfectly embody this truth in his very presence. Unfortunately, what follows has become a familiar story. The organization grew, internal power struggles became common and the message changed to one demanding absolute obedience. Cohen gradually began to not only change but reverse his initial teaching. Students were far from perfect as they were, and only by obeying Cohen and his chosen sub-commanders could there be any hope of improvement. What perhaps discredits the whole enterprise more than anything else is van der Braak's account of how those at the top of the organization were constantly vying for favor and how Cohen would impulsively love someone one day and condemn them the next for the least infraction. This kind of behavior is actually common in all institutions to some extent, but it is hardly what you'd expect from an enlightened master. As I read this, I actually found it hard to believe how long van der Braak put up with the whole thing. When I read on the back cover that he had been in Cohen's group for eleven years, I expected that things would have gone well for most of that time, perhaps deteriorating in the last couple of years. Yet, as van der Braak tells it, things became quite weird and authoritarian after only a few years, with van der Braak (along with many others) going in and out of favor with Cohen. The whole scenario sounds, more than anything else, like an abusive relationship where the abused party is in denial most of the time. I suppose leaders of cults and cultlike groups feed on the uncertainty and low self esteem of followers, convincing them that they deserve all the abuse.
Enlightenment Blues is an enjoyable book to read, despite the sometimes disturbing subject matter. It examines in some depth how someone can get gradually immersed in a way of life that would seem bizarre and dysfunctional to most. It can be read as a cautionary tale, but van der Braak is not dismissing all spiritual paths and leaders. I believe he sees some value in Cohen's teachings even after all he went through. This book should be appreciated by anyone on a spiritual path involving a spiritual teacher, or anyone interested in such matters. It does not necessarily follow from an account such as this that all gurus are bad. It does, however, strongly suggest the need for caution in the search for a spiritual teacher.
"A cautionary tale for anyone following a guru".......2005-12-06
Reading this book, I was taken aback at the sheep mentality of the followers of Andrew Cohen. It's shocking the degree of authority that people will allow others to wield over them. How does this happen? Andre van der Braak always comes off as someone too intelligent and sharp to be part of this group. I would like to give this book a better rating, because this is a detailed account of one man's disillusionment with a so-called guru, but much of the writing is repetitive and boring.
A story that needed telling, well-told.......2005-06-15
I can add little to what "rain cloud" said. This is an extremely well-written, introspective, balanced memoir that deserves a far wider audience. As for Andrew Cohen himself, the true test of a teacher of nonduality is the number of enlightened students he's sent out into the world to teach. Cohen has been at this for nearly twenty years. Where are his graduates?
Books:
- Spanish All Talk Basic Language Course (4 Hour/4 Cds): Learn to Understand and Speak Spanish with Linguaphone Language Programs (All Talk) (All Talk)
- Speculative Primitive
- Spitting Off Tall Buildings
- Superworse - The Novel: A Remix of Superbad: Stories and Pieces
- Swimming Lessons: A Novel
- Taken For Granted
- That Eye, The Sky : A Novel
- The Case Of Sergeant Grischa
- The City is a Rising Tide: A Novel
- The Confused Cop
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader
- The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocki
- Rates of Chemical Weathering of Rocks & Minerals
- The 13th Juror
- Steel Construction Manual, 13th Edition
- The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot
- The Complete Aquarium Problem Solver
- Knotwork And Spirals: A Celtic Art Workbook
- Prohibited Sketchbook
- Stable management explained
