Amazon.com
It's 1808 and that Corsican upstart Napoleon is battering the English army and navy. Enter Mr. Norrell, a fusty but ambitious scholar from the Yorkshire countryside and the first practical magician in hundreds of years. What better way to demonstrate his revival of British magic than to change the course of the Napoleonic wars? Susanna Clarke's ingenious first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, has the cleverness and lightness of touch of the Harry Potter series, but is less a fairy tale of good versus evil than a fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology teeming beneath the narrative. Mr. Norrell moves to London to establish his influence in government circles, devising such powerful illusions as an 11-day blockade of French ports by English ships fabricated from rainwater. But however skillful his magic, his vanity provides an Achilles heel, and the differing ambitions of his more glamorous apprentice, Jonathan Strange, threaten to topple all that Mr. Norrell has achieved. A sparkling debut from Susanna Clarke--and it's not all fairy dust. --Regina Marler
Book Description
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.
But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.
All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative-the very opposite of Mr Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.
Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing for more.
Customer Reviews:
Well-bred and gentlemanly magic.......2007-10-04
From first appearances this book appears as a bit of a tome, and to be honest it doesn't disappoint in that respect. An avid fantasy reader, I have never been daunted by 900 pages of delicious escape. However, this book, as suggested in other customer reviews, is by no means predictable with regard to content. I found myself, if not trudging, then at least wading slowly through the first half. I started to become anxious that the book would be no more than an expository British gentleman's account of political and theoretical magic. Creating the atmosphere and setting the stage are well and good, but I personally feel that too much ink was spent on what a person such as myself (i.e. not British) might construe as classical British niceties (i.e. gown and furniture descriptions, tedious exaltation of manners and custom, etc.).
The tale seemed to pick up dramatically somewhere about halfway. Tucked in here and there I also found some perfect jewels of witty British humour, most particularly in association with Mr. Strange's sojourn in Spain. More use of colour and texture appeared, and magical things not intended for the "greater glory of England" became center of focus. Character development also took an upturn as Ms. Clarke very skillfully starts to explore hero/anti-hero aspects of both main characters. That characters go so quickly from being parts of a book to actors (in a manner) which provoke reaction from the reader was a very pleasant surprise.
I wish Ms. Clarke might have spent more time developing the faerie magic part of the book, particularly with regard to the prophecy around which the magical tale of the book is centered (perhaps less about the gentleman with the thistle-down hair, of whom we learn critical details only at the very very end). Everything was neatly assembled and explained in the end, but its lack of lead-in momentum gave me the feeling that the big picture suddenly appeared and then disappeared without an appropriate and well-deserved climax.
But nit-picking aside I truly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone with a desire to read something different. As another reviewer suggests, be patient with the first half and you'll get a special treat with the second half.
Good grief is this book wearying.......2007-10-03
For the first several chapters, I just loved this book.... Interesting characters, charmingly old-fashioned style of writing, so fitting with the historical atmosphere of the novel. Then, about a third of the way through (right about at the first LONG footnote, yes, you heard me right, there are footnotes, and then there are the LONG footnotes), it started to drag a bit, maybe annoy me just slightly. Then, several chapters later, it was gratingly unpleasant to read. But, I'll admit, I wanted to know how things would turn out, so I finished it. It was painful; I wish I could have those days of my life back.
Don't bother..........2007-09-27
Slow, Plodding, as dry and bland as english cuisine... was a chore just to pick up and try to get to the next chaper. Arcane in how its written, like a busy housewifes journal, wandering as if the reader has a bad case of narcoplexi, turning into the next chapter and wondering.. "How did I get here?". Skip this one if you can.
Rational Thaumaturgy? Ask the Gentleman with the thistle down hair to explain it to you if you can........2007-09-22
Very few times one comes across a book that is completely original, with characters that are unique and very well developed. I can't believe the amount of information found in this book, and I really found the footnotes very helpful, and conveniently located at the bottom of the same page you're reading
Here in this book, we see the struggle of practice vs. theory. One magician is innovative, willing to experiment and to spread his magical knowledge, while the other only wants to keep all knowledge to himself. One knows the dangers of conjuring Faeries and other worldly creatures, while the other seeks the help of the dangerous Faeries. (I won't which one is which).
I love when a writer includes famous colorful characters in his or her stories. Clarke includes Duke Wellington, Napoleon, and Lord Byron, the irresolute poet who befriends Strange in Venice. Cross reference to various magicians from the past, gives this book an unprecedented authenticity, considering is a fantasy story. The magic is described so subtlety, that it might appear that such things really happened, and will happen again, unlike Harry Potter, for example.
Love Clarke's inventive, from the hilarious flying pineapples , the candles inside people's heads, to the magical fleet, the disappearing roads, all speak of a vivid imagination, and impressive talent as a story teller.
Her view of a magical realm is so different from what one expects. No glittering halls, no magic wands, no wizards no rainbows not a single sunny day, or starry nights. All is gloom, sadness and melancholy. Long halls, abandoned gardens, mysterious mirrors, and empty parlors, and in the middle of it all, an enchanted servant and two enchanted ladies longing for their release.
After reading this book, you won't look at a cloudy day the same way, and every time you hear the sound of a lonely bell, you will expect to see the gentleman with the thistle down hair wearing a bright green coat coming your way.
5 stars
Sold Short as an 'Adult' Harry Potter - It's much better.......2007-09-14
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is in many ways more a piece of historical fiction than it is a 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings' style fantasy. There is no wand waving. There are no lightning and fireball battles between wizards. There is no epic 'good versus evil' battle at the end. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a character driven story about jealousy, ambition, and loss. The magic is almost incidental.
Ms. Clarke crafts an alternative version of England at the beginning of the 19th century - the twist being that magic has returned to England - that is so wonderfully immersive that you can nearly smell the damp earth and musty libraries.
Ms. Clarke has structured the book as a sort of post-action record compiled for posterity. This structure gives Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell it's most remarkable feature - its footnotes. These glorious footnotes explain bits and pieces of magical history to help us, the reader, understand references made by Strange, Norrel, and others. Each one is a jewel of compressed storytelling, a tiny window into the wider magical world beyond the confines of this book.
You get the feeling Ms. Clarke could write he own version of The Silmarillion, filling out a complete history of the world she's created.
Though the book starts off slowly, the writing is rich enough and the characters intriguing enough to get the reader into the meat of this book. Once there, read slowly to savor the world Ms. Clarke created. The end of the book comes much quicker than one would expect from an 800-odd page novel.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell masterfully mixes action, drama and comedy into a attention-consuming whole that left me with a wonderfully satisfied feeling.
Average customer rating:
- A sweet fairytale for cynics
- A great read
- Loved this story
- A Very Entertaining Book by Teresa Medeiros
- Fun, Silly Sequel Set in Medieval Times
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Touch of Enchantment
Teresa Medeiros
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0553575007
Release Date: 1997-06-02 |
Amazon.com
Most witches are delighted with their talents, but Tabitha (yes, she's named after the Bewitched character) is not only embarrassed by her talents, she has never honed her skills. Things just happen, especially after she is bequeathed a mysterious amulet that transports her back in time. In this sequel to Breath of Magic, modern girl meets medieval knight. And although Sir Colin of Ravenspeare, Tabitha's knight in shining armor, can't figure out her pajamas and bunny slippers, he is able to look past Tabitha's short hair and modern manner to find true love. Witches aren't exactly welcome in medieval England, so unless Tabitha can convince Ravenspeare to travel into the 20th century with her their future will remain uncertain.
Book Description
From the bestselling author of
Breath of Magic and
Shadows and Lace comes a beguiling new time-travel love story in the hilarious, magical voice that has made Teresa Medeiros one of the nation's most beloved romance writers.
Heiress Tabitha Lennox considered her paranormal talents more a curse than a gift. So she dedicated her life to the cold, rational world of science. Until the day she examined the mysterious amulet her mother had left her and found herself catapulted seven centuries into the past—directly into the path of a rearing black charger ridden by a chain-mailed warrior.
Sir Colin of Ravenshaw had returned from the Crusades to find his castle in ruins, his enemy poised to overrun the land where generations of Ravenshaws had ruled. The last thing he expected was to half trample a damsel with odd garb and even odder manners. But it is her strange talent that will create trouble beyond Colin's wildest imaginings. For everyone knows that a witch must be burned...but it is Colin's heart that is aflame, over an enchanting woman he must not love, yet cannot live without.
Customer Reviews:
A sweet fairytale for cynics.......2007-04-05
Teresa Medeiros, with her upbeat tone and delightful sense of play, has written another fairytale novel with Touch of Enchantment.
Smart and talented--yet mousy, cynical , and unappreciative--wealthy Tabitha Lennox is nearly at the helm of one of the richest businesses in the country when an unexpected computer program hurls her 700 years into the past.
Tabitha, who has never experienced nor really expected love, meets brave, honorable knight Sir Colin of Ravenshaw, who exudes an earthy sexiness and sincerity that she find irresistible.
These two strong-willed people come to love and need one another, but their relationship is threatened by a neighboring English estate tyrant, Colin's long-standing engagement to someone else, his past heartache, and the revelation that Tabitha is an (albeit reluctant) witch. Eventually Tabitha must use the supernatural powers she has always feared and disowned to save herself and Colin from doom.
Familiar characters and plot twists do not mar this novel much because it unfolds in such an uplifting, happy, and ultimately satisfying way.
A great read.......2006-08-15
Touch of Enchantment is a sequel to Breath of Magic. It is a tale about Tristan and Arian's only child, Tabitha, and her adventure in medieval times.
Tabitha has everything she wants. She, like her father, is a genius, graduated from MIT at the age of fifteen, is a department head at Lennox Enterprises and the world is basically at her feet. But throughout her life, Tabitha has felt alone. She has special abilities that she can't understand or control, and she's learned to see them as a curse. Her fear of her abilities has also taught Tabitha to see herself as different from everyone else, which has led her to a lonely life, aloof and set apart from others.
The story opens with the news that her parents are missing. Tabitha is given a video clip her mother made for her. It explains an heirloom that her mother has kept hidden from her father. The emerald necklace allows the wearer to make desires or wishes come true. It also allows the wearer to travel through time. Unfortunately, Tabitha skipped through most of her mother's instructions and decided to experiment on the necklace instead. Her experiment goes awry and she finds herself in the middle of a meadow, in medieval England, and about to be run down by a knight on a horse.
Tabitha's adventure leads her into the arms of the man she was destined to love, but despite their growing attraction, there are obstacles they can't seem to avoid. Colin is betrothed to another and breaking the betrothal contract will mean war for him and his people. Tabitha is considered a witch and the locals have a habit of burning them at the stake. Colin's nemesis is aware of Tabitha's special abilities and is trying to kidnap her and murder Colin.
This was an entertaining read but I'm not sure it was as good as Breath of Magic. Breath of Magic, however, is blessed with a very memorable character in Arian and that is a hard act to follow. Nevertheless, Touch of Enchantment is good enough on its own with a solid storyline and great characters.
Loved this story.......2005-06-20
I have read several books from Teresa Medeiros and I have to say that this is one of my favorites. It was a fun read that was very cheesy in a nice way. It is nice to read a story once in awhile where the hero isn't such a womanizer. I chuckled quite often in this book. Sometimes a trip from reality is a fun read if you are not expecting something too dark or deep.
I enjoyed their love story and was very happy with the ending. Although, I would have liked to have had more insight to Colin's thoughts after landing in 2020 but I guess that might have taken a bit from the ending.
I never read Breath of Magic so I am looking forward to reading that one.
A Very Entertaining Book by Teresa Medeiros.......2005-02-05
Tabitha receives an amulet that helps her focus her magic. Unwittingly she errors and finds herself wisked through time to the era of gallant and not so gallant Knights. Sir Colin is returning from the Crusades and being chased by an excellent villian, when he comes upon a this strange looking woman. She is dressed in clothing from the future which make her definately out of character for the era. Fearlessly, she protects the Knight and is mistaken for his woman. He is impressed by her bravery as well. Keeping her wasn't his choice, and when magical things happen she must explains them away, as he is much against magic.
Everyone knows that a witch must be burned, and Sir Colin allows his opinion to be known to Heiress Tabitha. A bumbling witch from the future, Tabitha keeps her secret. Will he want her burned, if he discovers she's a witch?
This story develops quickly, has plenty of action, and held my attention. The villian is perfect, the friends amusing, and the main characters endearing. Some of the side characters are endearing also. I enjoyed to ending as much as all the rest, and frankly would not have minded if the story continued.
Teresa lives up to her much earned reputation of being an excellent writer. I recommend this book to all who enjoy romance with a touch of magic.
Fun, Silly Sequel Set in Medieval Times.......2005-01-11
I couldn't get enough of TOUCH OF ENCHANTMENT. It was cute and silly, and quite fun to read. The premise of the story is, in the year 2020, reluctant white witch Tabitha gets zapped 700 years into the past by her mother's magic amulet and into the life of beleaguered Scottish knight Colin of Ravenwood. In his company, she does everything from being imprisoned in a cold, dark dungeon to facing a mythical monster in battle. Very fairytale-ish, indeed. I enjoyed Tabitha's dealings with medieval folk and her accidents with magic (as well as all her sarcasm and one-liners). I also thought that Colin, a chivalrous knight devoted to God, was an intriguing hero.
TOUCH OF ENCHANTMENT is the sequel to BREATH OF MAGIC, which is about Tabitha's parents. I enjoyed both books immensely. Each has enjoyable characters and its own unique time-travel storyline. My advice is to read them both, in order. They are great fun and have wacky senses of humor!
Average customer rating:
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Set of 15 Historical Romance Novels by Teresa Medeiros (Lady of Conquest, Shadows and Lace, Nobody's Darling, Yours Until Dawn, Breath of Magic, Touch of Enchantment, Charming the Prince, Bride and the Beast, A Kiss to Remember, One Night of Scandal, After Midnight, Vampire Who Loved Me and More!)
Teresa Medeiros
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000TFKNMG |
Book Description
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, honored the best of science fiction's early short stories. This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas written between 1929 to 1964 and contains eleven great classics. There is no better anthology that captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field.Published in 1973 to honor novellas that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country.This volume contains novellas by Poul Anderson, John W. Campbell Jr., Lester del Rey, Robert A. Heinlein, C. M. Kornbluth, Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, Eric Frank Russell, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, H. G. Wells, and Jack Williamson.
Book Description
As Osho points out in the foreward to this book, historically, the creative person has been all but forced to rebel against the society.But nowadays, the situation has dramatically changed. In today's world, the ability to respond creatively to new challenges is demanded of everybody, from corporate CEOs to "soccer moms." Those whose toolbox for dealing with life includes only what they have learned in the past from their parents and their teachers are at a distinct disadvantage both in their relationships and in their careers. Making a switch from imitative and rule-bound behavior to creative innovation and flexibility requires a profound change in our attitudes about ourselves and our capabilities.Creativity is a handbook for those who understand the need to bring more creativity, playfulness, and flexibility to their lives. It's a manual for thinking "outside the box"-and learning to live there as well.
Customer Reviews:
Creativity: Unleashing the Forces Within (Osho, Insights for a New Way of Living.).......2006-11-11
It is a great book for a creative person.
Vomit is in the Mouth of the Beholder.......2006-05-09
Creativity, Unleashing the Forces Within, Osho
New York: St.Martin's Griffin, 1999.
194 pages
Creativity, Unleashing the Forces Within, is my first bout with Osho and his writings. As the title suggests the purpose of the book is to aid the reader onto a creative path. This is done firstly by introducing the reader to the five obstacles that inhibit creativity, each obstacle having a chapter to its own, and then followed by a presentation of the four keys which are to be used in overcoming these obstacles. Each key has a chapter as well and the entire book is rounded off with a few questions followed by Osho's written response to them. The first question I am going ask myself now that I'm finished with the book is...
Did this book succeed in unleashing my creative forces?
I wish the answer could be a simple yes or no, but it isn't. If I had read this book by itself, without any supplementary literature - I think my answer would be a definitive no. Yes, I would have had gained intellectual insight into what creativity is according to Osho, but I don't believe I would have become more creative for having read it.
Overall Osho's book was a frustrating and disappointing read, I would have tossed the book after page ten had not a friend so deviously put it in my hand. Incidentally I've plucked out her eyes, lopped off her hands substituting them with tree branches, taken away her touch tone phone and replaced it with an old school rotary, and alas moved to a fourth floor cubicle of a DMV (department of motor vehicles) office somewhere across the country. In other words she does not have a chance in hell of ever recommending a book to me again.
But now having read the book in connection with some other literature on a similar subject matter my answer is a bit different. It's different in that yes, I feel that reading this book has been a catalyst for unleashing a creative event. But I don't think it's the type the author had anticipated. The thing is if I make you aware that this book frustrated me to the point that not only did I decide to write this review, but I went out of my way to research the manner at which to write a proper review, and you consider this to be a form of unbridled creativity well then yes... Osho has succeeded indirectly in unleashing my creativity. Notice the term, indirectly, because the direct credit really goes to a few other books I've recently picked up and will list later in this review. The source of `inspiration' I have received from Osho's book comes in the form of disdain for this type of book and others of its sort.
From looking at a table of contents I'm sure the individual who is seeking enlightenment will find the concepts attractive and logical to agree with. The taxonomy of the book breaks down into four major sections. First the introduction of the three c's; consciousness, compassion, and creativity. Then the five obstacles of which are:
*self-consciousness
*perfectionism
*intellect
*belief
*and the fame game.
Thirdly it discusses the four keys, which are:
*become a child again
*be ready to learn
*find nirvana in the ordinary
*and be a dreamer.
And finally the last section has four questions with lengthy commentary which are not as integrated as the chapters prior.
By scanning the contents above a person could say to herself, "wow I see where he's coming from... being a child again, being ready to learn, perfectionism and fame - obstacles ... yeah... he's so right. I've got to get this book."
But when I read the book. I was none the wiser. For example let's look at how he deals with becoming a child again which is the first of the four keys and spans about ten pages from pp. 109-118. Bear with me this may be a little tough to follow. If you want to jump over it jump past the second grouping of four stars.
****
First he introduces to us what a child is. And that there is a direct link between being a child and being creative.
"All children, wherever they are born, are creative - but we don't allow their creativity."
Later he moves on to explain how we crush and kill their creativity by teaching them the `right' way to do things. Then a parable and a criticism of the Nobel prize system and a few blurbs about how the only respectable artists are the dead ones because their art wasn't appreciated in their time. It continues with a one paragraph primer on what happens with the behavioral patterns of children between the ages of seven and fourteen year old, followed by a couple paragraphs of right and left hemisphere functionality description with neither a footnote, nor any form of bibliography at the end of the book. He then moves on to discuss his ethical views on drugs in the West and compulsory education.
And then he throws outs statements of desperation of this sort...
"How can humanity go on living without love and without poetry and without joy and without celebration."
The section is then directed back to the right/left brain discussion and onwards to how treatises and discourses are just another form of vomit (his term). Vomit in the sense that the perpetrator of the work is vomiting undigested knowledge.
And alas, at the very end he comes with the recipe.
*Undo all that your parents and your teachers have done to you.
*Undo all that the policeman and the politician and the priest have done to you.
*And you will again become creative.
That's it. That's the advice.
***
What? That was my reaction. You mean I had to listen to your moralizing, put up with your condescension and have to suffer through your pseudoscience and incessant complaining for you to tell me this. It's sort of like saying to a person who is overweight and has an eating disorder, "well if you want trim up... undo the excess poundage."
It is a worthless piece of advice and can only be expected from a book of this caliber. Not that it's wrong, because it's not. It's very right but it's useless in the sense that it's only given you the destination from a limited perspective and not the tools to help you make the travel. It is a judgmental patriarchal attitude that unfortunately is still prevalent in our society today but slowly losing ground to more applicable solutions.
I sort of want to stop this review here, but I can't because there is something with this book that strikes me at a personal level and I think it is the root of my frustration. It is oddly enough the honesty of the book, the so incredible lack of political correctness which in a sense is very childlike. In a world where psychologists, marketing experts, psychoanalysts, anthropologists, social scientists, and more are working under a corporate umbrella to appease and sway consumers towards their products Osho certainly stands out in the crowd as a person who is straight up. Not straight up about the facts, just straight up about how he feels.
An example follows here:
"Ninety-nine percent of art is just not art at all; it is rubbish. Rarely is there a work of art, very rarely. Others are just imitators, technicians - skillful people, clever people, but not artists. And that ninety-nine percent of art disappearing from the earth will be a blessing, because it is more like a vomit rather than anything creative."
Wow. Try saying that, to the artist showcasing, the next time you're invited to her premier art exhibit.
Or try this one:
"Ninety-nine percent of modern art is pathological. If it disappears from the world it will be very healthy, it will be helpful. It will not harm."
I wonder if Osho feels his art falls into the 1%.
There is a brief discussion in the book about Michelangelo, Van Gogh and Picasso, which I will spare you the details of, but to sum it up, in Osho's eyes, Michelangelo and Van Gogh are 'da man's' while Picasso plain and simply sucks. If Michelangelo's Pieta is so divine why didn't the Osho foundation choose a photo of the infamous sculpture or a Van Gogh print for the cover instead of a terrible functionalistic abstract of Osho's own artwork. Notice the word terrible. It's terrible because I don't like it... and that's the only reason why. To someone else it might be beautiful. So when Osho says something like this...
"Now, the so-called modern art is nothing but that. Picasso's paintings may have saved Picasso from becoming mad, but that's all there is to it...
... Just think: keep the Picasso painting for fifteen minutes in front of you and go on looking at it... and you start feeling restlessness, discomfort, giddy, nauseous. What is happening? It is somebody's vomit..."
What Osho fails to realize is that Picasso's art is not very comfortable to look at because it exemplifies reality on a different level then Van Gogh's. Picasso's art has movement and it is a disturbing movement as is movement on the quantum level or the movement of an electron, or even movement in a fast moving vehicle for some, but it doesn't make it any less aesthetic. Aestheticism has for millions of years been a function of evolutionary development and is primed to be utilized in a fight or flight world. Insects to most people are repulsive. It's in our genes to follow this repulsion to a certain extent, because insects often follow carnage and death. They are the cleanup crew. They are the guys that put up the yellow and black sign that says do not enter, this food is contaminated, this zone has been declared as biohazardous. Pass through it at your own risk. The species that weren't programmed to appreciate this warning died off and never reproduced.
Knowledge, however, has brought with it a new form of aestheticism, an appreciation of beauty on many different levels, reaching beyond immature forms of aestheticism rooted in our fundamental evolutionary desire. And if anything is important in the realization of an individual's creativity it is that. That the old adage, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, is more true than ever. If you get a chance, check out the movie Microcosms and you'll see what I mean about how beautiful insects can be. Beauty not only in color and in shape but in movement.
This book has molested my contemplation as Titus might have put it and caters to an outdated aristocracy that embraces a fading form of aestheticism. The idea that there is an absolute beauty and this beauty is divine and once in a great moon this divinity can be channeled through `special' individuals. One of those individuals, in this particular case, being `Osho' of course.
You might be thinking that I'm saying, "don't read this book," but oddly enough I'm not. I'm saying this is my experience with this book and then you can simply go from there. It's not a black and white experience. It's deeper than that and my personal experience with this book is important for the review in that it will hopefully give you more insight into me and your manner of weighing this critique. My frustration with this book I think ultimately boils down to that I can identify with Osho on a certain level. I can identify with this contempt. I can identify with this envy. I can identify with the underlying bitterness. But these are aspects of me I'm slowly letting go and in losing them I become more childlike. It's not because of this book I wrote this review however. It wasn't this book that gave me the strength to write a review I know I will never get paid for or get recognized for. It was a few others which are listed below. Books that give me faith in myself as creative entity, not books that destructively criticize me and everything outside their norm.
Before pointing out the books that did influence me to write this review I would like to tie the knots. Creativity, Unleashing the Forces Within is a book filled with parables, contradictory knowledge, prose and an underlying contemptuous tone that attempts to market the reader to something bigger. It creates a sense that there should be something more after this book. To me the book reads like an extremely long spam mail promising you the world and delivering nothing. Well not nothing... it does deliver an odd form of aggravation because of Osho's flagrant honesty and stupidity. It's odd that this honesty, this condescending attitude towards that which does not fit into his worldview, is what ends up making this book entertaining.
Literature of this sort I think is dangerous and in a sense should come with a disclaimer in that it I think it creates a possible world but it offers very little help telling you how to get there. A book like this ultimately I think will make a person depressed or falsely hopeful, leading them to spend more dollars on more books in finding their creative path.
My recommendation, do not buy this book. Borrow it if you really feel you have the time and effort to read it, but I really think in the long run it will not have the same effect on you as it did me in that I wasn't prepared before I read it. I didn't know somebody was going to throw up on me. Some times good things come of bad things. Osho's vomit has instigated me to write this review but I don't think I would have spent such an enormous time on it if I hadn't read the books in the paragraph to follow.
To close I would like to recommend the books which I feel and know of are really great for unleashing creativity.
*The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
*Writing from the Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo
*Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
Now I'm not going to go into details on any of the books here. You'll have to check out other people's reviews and make your decision based on that. I will, however, leave you with a quote from Palumbo's book...
"You, everything you are, all your feelings, hopes and dreads, fears and fantasies - you are enough."
It's taken me thirty seven years to realize this and still I don't feel I know that completely to the core. Some day I'm hoping I will. Thank you for taking the time to read such an incredibly lengthy review, hopefully the chunks I spewed will come off in the first wash.
First Osho book.......2006-03-28
I'm in high school and this was the first Osho book and only book so far that I have read. It did help me understand how to think more creatively and has several great quotes that will leave you analyzing everything you do in your life from the day you put the book down. He encourages an open mind yet is very direct on his religious beliefs at times which may be hard for some people to get around. I'm not too religious myself, but I did enjoy the different spiritual interpretations and comparisons. His action vs. activity section will leave you asking yourself why you ever watch tv or do anything non-creative at all. It will motivate you to not only do more with your life, but also help you think more outside the box. He does like to repeat himself a little bit which I actually liked instead of a beginning to end straight and narrow approach.
Master.......2005-09-12
Osho is a master spiritual teacher. He draws from all different traditions to express points that lie behind the symbolic languages used by these traditions. I recommend highly his works.
Good book but..........2005-08-20
First of all it is a good book in the subject and offers good insight in aspects like the relation between memory and creativity for instance. The "but" is that it should have been more edited becouse Osho sometimes repeats the same idea and the same sentences so many times that makes you think the book should be a lot shorter than what it is. And the other thing is when he talks in the way he talks about money and glory being of no importance. I don't know why but it always brings to my mind the famous 93 Roll Royce, the number of Rolex, etc...
We shouldn't forget that he was just human. Too human. Anyway, the book is good, but others, like his Awarennes, for instance, are not just good, are wonderful.
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Creatividad/ Creativity: Liberando Las Fuerzas Internas/Unleashing the Forces Within (Autoayuda)
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ASIN: 8425338301 |
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Creativity: Unleashing Forces within
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Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Books:
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- Lying Awake
- Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel
- Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
- Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel (Walker, Alice)
- Ordinary Wolves: A Novel
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