Book Description
As the well-educated and socially skilled wife of a prominent Confederate, Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut (1823-86) was ideally situated—and intellectually equipped—to record the narrative of daily life in the Confederacy during the Civil War. Yet while she is widely recognized for the significant contribution of her "diaries," Mary Chesnut's other works chronicling her experiences in the Civil War South have remained—until now—unpublished and virtually unknown.
Intensely autobiographical novels, The Captain and the Colonel and Two Years—or The Way We Lived Then are Chesnut's fictionalized accounts of the world as women experienced it in the mid-nineteenth century South. These short, unfinished novels address a wide range of subjects related to women, and serve as an extension of the valuable source material found in the diaries, revealing much about southern history and culture, gender roles, slave-mistress relations, childhood, education, the experiences of westward migration, and the impact of the Civil War on private lives and relationships.
With an Introduction by Elizabeth Hanson that places Chesnut's novels in their social context, and thoughtfully edited by Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, Mary Chesnut's fiction is a fascinating and long overdue addition to the library of southern history.
Book Description
Boxed Set containing Mass Market Paperback editions of Rhapsody, Prophecy, and Destiny
Rhapsody
The brilliant new saga is born ...
Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world-- a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody's aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep within the Cauldron.
Prophecy
In Rhapsody, a fellowship was forged-- three companions who, through great adversity, became a force to be reckoned with: Rhapsody the Singer; Achmed the assassin-king; and Grunthor, the giant Sergeant-Major. Prophecy continues their powerful epic. Driven by a prophetic vision, Rhapsody races to rescue a religious leader while Achmed and Grunthor seek the F'dor-- an ancient and powerful demon. These companions may be destined to fulfill The Prophecy of the Three, but their time is running short. They must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all.
Destiny
A Fellowship of Three
To stand against the F'dor-- an ancient, vile being intent on destroying the world-- a fellowship has been forged: Rhapsody, a Singer of great talent and beauty; Achmed, an assassin with unearthly talents; and Grunthor, a giant of jolly disposition and lethal skill with weapons.
Driven by prophetic visions, the three know that time is running short, know that they must find their elusive enemy before his darkness consumes them all. But after their final, brutal confrontation with the F'dor, their world crosses the threshold of disaster and faces utter oblivion. The action reaches a fevered pitch, achieving a crescendo of tragedy, love, and triumph of human spirit over world-shattering cataclysm.
With death at hand and the world crumbling at their feet, these three will finally discover their true ...
Destiny
Customer Reviews:
Symphony of Ages.......2006-01-30
This is a fantastic trilogy. It has the complexity of Lord of the Rings with the humor of Star Wars. I greatly enjoyed it.
Don't Waste Your Time and Money.......2005-02-26
I was on the lookout for a new series and I came across this one. Some people loved it, some people bashed it, and I made the mistake of buying it. I will say I read the whole stupid series thinking it may redeem itself eventually...instead, it got worse. By the middle of the first book, I hated Rhapsody in all her impossible perfection and self-righteousness. As far as characters go, Rhapsody was ridiculous...not to mention her boyfriend, who had to be the most unmanly male love interest I've ever read. Yes, I read fantasy to escape reality (I think a lot of us do) but I don't read fantasy to be bombarded with mush. I can appreciate a splash of romance as much as anyone, but this was just plain dumb.
Discordant "Rhapsody".......2005-01-25
High fantasy is a hard genre to write convincingly -- too often books end up as bad clones of Tolkien or "Star Wars." Unfortunately, "The Symphony of Ages" is bad fantasy... with a flaky girl-power twist. While there's quite a few pretty descriptions and interesting new ideas, Elizabeth Haydon's series ends up flopping like a morbid fish.
"Rhapsody" introduces us to a potentially interesting heroine and world -- Rhapsody is an ex-prostitute bard who is also a Singer, able to change reality by her voice. After a run-in with a former "client's" henchmen, she ends up with a hired assassin and his ogre-ish sidekick -- and then goes through "The Root," in a life-changing trip through time.
"Prophecy: Child of Earth" continued the story as Rhapsody and Co. battle a demon, gain new powers, and battle the future Battle That Will Either Save Or End The World. Okay, whatever. In the finale of the trilogy, "Destiny: Child of the Sky," the group is battling the evil F'Dor, and Rhapsody learns the secrets of her past and what might destroy her love.
Here's a tip for all wannabe authors: No matter how much you want us to like your hero(ine), don't make him/her perfect. Apparently Elizabeth Haydon never got that tip. Her excruciating heroine makes the angels look positively selfish -- and it's enough to make you sick. Too bad Haydon didn't focus the series on creepy assassin Achmed or part-dragon Ashe -- either one would make a more interesting lead than Rhapsody.
Haydon does redeem her book somewhat with her writing, which makes good use of language and has quite a few prettily written passages. She also conjures up some truly intriguing ideas, such as Rhapsody's singing ability and the Root. But in other areas, her writing has the feeling of a kiddie fantasy cartoon -- a magic sword called "Daystar Clarion"? Come on.
Rhapsody is the biggest problem: ridiculously sweet, annoyingly clueless, and inspires all other characters to follow her like so many lovestruck sheep, or quiver after her. She even has her virginity magically restored, and doesn't realize that her goddesslike beauty practically causes men to wet themselves. Even dragons get the hots for her. Who can like a character like that? She reads like the private fantasy of an author who desperately needed to get this out of her system.
"The Symphony of Ages" had promise at the start, but a grotesquely saccharine heroine and her army of lust-addled followers kill that promise. As fantasy goes, Haydon's first three books are an exercise in irritation.
An Intolerable Heroine.......2004-12-28
This series started out with a lot of potential. By about halfway through the second book, I began to have serious reservations. By the third, I found myself skimming over most of the novel in sheer exasperation. The heroine, Rhapsody, becomes so perfect that Mother Theresa looks squalid by comparison.
Therein lies the series' chief problem, of course.
Even if you're not put off by Rhapsody's physical perfection, whatever exactly that means, and the way everyone gapes in wonder every time they look at her, it's very easy to be put off by the extreme self-righteousness that accompanies her supposed moral perfection. As just one example of this moral 'perfection,' Rhapsody blames herself in book three for nearly being raped, and then goes out of her way afterward to make sure her almost-rapist is feeling good about himself. My guess is that this whole episode was meant to be touching, and to show readers what a great person Rhapsody is just in case we hadn't already gotten the message. I found it to be nauseating.
Add to that Rhapsody's extreme sensitivity, which has her blubbering about something on--literally--almost every page, her incessant anguish, and her nearly constant urge to vomit in dismay about something or other, and you end up with a trilogy that is on the whole rather toxic.
That said, I'm giving the series two stars for two reasons. One, the author does manage to create one interesting supporting character, Achmed. Too bad we see so little of him after the first book. Precisely because he is not perfect, he is a real breath of fresh air. Second, the dialogue is, by and large, pretty good.
If you can tolerate a cloyingly sweet and intensely irritating main character, excessive amounts of description, and a magical system that allows Rhapsody to do pretty much anything she wants to, you may like these books. If you're looking for a novel that's actually worth your time, read something by Carol Berg.
A little too dues ex machina for my tastes........2004-09-16
It's an interesting concept, but too many things are just too coincidental to be entirely believable. Also, Rhapsody's extreme humility is annoying beyond belief, the characters take forever to figure out what was obvious to me, and the end was mostly predictable.
That said, I did finish the series, mainly because I hate leaving stories unfinished (even when they're not to my liking).
I certainly have no plans of ever buying the follow up, Requiem for the Sun, nor would I borrow it from a library to read.
Average customer rating:
- You'll either LOVE IT or HATE IT
- Too much revisionism
- Self-righteous and over-written
- A hard look at Sam Houston and early Texas
- An historic novel based on facts by a talented writer.
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Empire of Bones: A Novel of Sam Houston and the Texas Revolution
Jeff Long
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
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ASIN: 0688122523 |
Customer Reviews:
You'll either LOVE IT or HATE IT.......2003-10-30
Jeff Long always manages to open the proverbial "can of worms" when he puts his view of Texas history on paper. It's pretty obvious that he has an axe to grind, which CAN be positive. In this case however, it's positively appalling. Long might be a fair novelist, but he stinks as an historian. There are far too many skewered "facts" in this work. Long destroyed much of the mythology surrounding the Alamo, (DUEL OF EAGLES) but managed to create a whole new batch in the process. In EMPIRE OF BONES, Long takes aim at the Battle of San Jacinto and unfortunately he misses the mark. Revisionists will LOVE this book, and many "proud Texans" will hate it. It's a poor novel and worse history.
Too much revisionism.......2002-06-12
First of all, the book is well-researched and quite entertaining. However, Long goes too far in his efforts to knock the Texas heroes from their pedestals. Instead of deifying them, he takes the exact opposite extreme with the end result being just as unrealistic and unbelieveable. The tone of the description on the cover is also quite arrogant, proclaming the possible execution as described in the book as a proven fact, ignoring the inconclusive nature of the evidence.
The book itself is full of good information, yet stretches the reader's imagination to believe that Sam Houston was nothing more than a lucky, bumbling fool who essentially did nothing and led nowhere and that the Texas Army was nothing more than a roving band of inhuman animals whose lust for land and money was responsible for the "massacre" at San Jacinto. Once again, the cover description seems to suggest that Long is the first to discover the "true nature" of the battle, as if no one else had previously figured it out. Additionally, the Mexican atrocities at the Alamo and Goliad are mentioned, but Long seems to only hold Santa Anna accountable for the slaughter at those events.
Essentially, it could have been a good book if the author was not attempting to prove an impossible point. Long had an opportunity to give a realistic portrayal of the epic conflict and failed by making Crockett, Houston and the Texas Army just as unbelievable as the demigods that they have been made out to be in the past.
Self-righteous and over-written.......2001-08-07
About two-thirds through this work, I wondered why I was reading it. Houston is so thoroughly painted with a Hamlet-like melancholy that the book becomes lifeless. Indeed, according to Long, Houston was impotant in command and in character: unable to win over his officers and fearful of the mob that was his army. When placed in a position to administer justice, he waivers. He becomes a bystander to the events that stretch between the battles of the Alamo and of San Jacinto. Chapter after chapter foreshadows the battle of San Jacinto as a massacre brought on by the barbarity of the American volunteers. Yet Long (as Houston) also cries for the lost innocence of these settlers and fortune-seekers. But when the battle finally comes, Houston's actions are buffoonish. The killing is labeled criminal, but seldom described so. And perhaps that is the real flaw. There is a lack of description of events. There is a lot of wailing about death and the scattering of bones, but no action. Long wants to work both ways. He wants to condemn the events at San Jacinto - register it as the mark of Cain on the forehead of Texas, but he neither faults Houston nor the Texan army. The former is incapable of handling his men. The latter are no more than undisciplined children. Of other interest, there is a dramatic prologue featuring Davy Crockett at the Alamo, a ridiculous sexual encounter between Houston and a wealthy refugee, and of course the almost required parting shot at Santa Anna as an egomaniacal fop hated even by his aide.
A hard look at Sam Houston and early Texas.......1999-12-17
This is a very enjoyable work of historical fiction. The character of Sam Houston is one of those American originals that seem so perfect for fiction that it is hard to believe he ever really lived. The exaggerated aspects of character - the dramatic costumes, high intelligence, temper, ambition, sensitivity, appitite and energy - all seem to be perfectly Texan, perfectly larger than life. Any number of good accounts of his life could be, and have been, written. What makes this retelling of the period of his life when he fought the Battle of San Jacinto significant is that it isn't simply a tale of the good guy Texans getting revenge on Santa Anna and the bad guy Mexicans. In this more balanced and reasoned telling of the tale, that great variety of human ambitions and greed that spark most wars and revolutions, is shown as a prominant part of the struggle to wrest Texas from Mexico.
The cast of characters is interesting and the depiction of that early period in Texas history seems realistic and believable. The climactic battle of San Jacinto is told in hard detail and the probably over bloody response to the surprised Mexican forces shows that whatever cruelties the Mexicans were willing to meet out to those at the Alamo, their avengers were capable of as well.
A really interesting and satisfyfing book. I don't know if Texans would go for it, but this Tennessean sure did.
An historic novel based on facts by a talented writer........1999-01-20
Mr.Long is also the author of "Duel of Eagles" and this book continues his focus on Sam Houston. The form of a novel allows Mr. Long to explore themes that a purely historical book would not. Some Texas "historians" had sharp and negative reactions to "Duel of Eagles". This is understandable since the book is not the typical hagiography often passed off as Texas history. "Empire" offers an insight into the motivations and actions of some of those "brave Texians" who came to Texas seeking real estate and riches rather than liberty and freedom. Mr. Long's view is that Texas under Mexico was a tough and ruthless place which attracted some of the most greedy and grasping men of the age. At the same time certain men, Houston, Rusk, Seguin, and Smith are clearly complex and perhaps honorable men in rugged times. Mr. Long's works are a counter-balance to the propaganda and boosterism which seemed to infect much of the writings about Texas as republic and before. Whether you agree with Mr. Long's views, his research is thorough and his characters are real. This book is a valuable addition to any collection of books on Texas or Sam Houston.
Customer Reviews:
Empire of Bones.......2005-08-10
Liz Williams is a writer who deserves much more attention than she seems to be getting. As other writers fill the shelves with humongous, Tolstoyan epics that lumber on into multiple volumes, Williams has waged a guerilla war on mediocre fiction, wielding her pen in precise strokes that shape single novels of imaginative storytelling. Put simply, Liz Williams writes excellent novels, and brings a welcomed measure of creative craft to the genre.
Empire of Bones is Williams' second novel, and deals with alien intervention in human affairs. This is a simple plot, and one that has been used by countless other writers. Where Williams really shines is in her ability to craft a compelling story that immerses the reader in an unfamiliar world, centers on interesting, likeable characters, and takes both hero and reader on a strange adventure of discovery. This last aspect makes her books readable in the can't-put-down vein, as each revelation brings the story that much closer to a satisfying conclusion.
This is a remarkable talent to find in a second novel. Even more remarkable is the fact that Williams has written five novels in as many years, and not one of these is a sequel. Each novel is an entirely self-contained story, and based in a world unrelated to the others. Compared to the sprawling, multi-volume series that require thousands of pages for a complete story, Williams' concise storytelling is indeed a welcomed alternative.
Williams is also a bold author. Her ideas can be massive, with the far-reaching ramifications that one looks for in a space-opera epic such as Dan Simmons' Hyperion; or they can be wicked, involving bad-ass weaponry and gadgets that Iain Banks is famous for in his Culture novels. Nor does Williams dole these out a few at a time to keep the story going. Each novel is full of these imaginative ideas, and they all combine to create a fascinating world that inspires the wonder and speculation that genre readers continually crave. The breadth of Williams' imagination is truly awesome . . .
Read the rest of this review at GENREBUSTERS.COM
Great Story with Some Major Flaws.......2003-02-21
Empire of Bones starts out as a great concept, but the author lets herself slip by putting in some foreshadowing that is actually explicit information to the reader about what is to come. The last third of the novel loses momentum, and the ending is much too open and refuses to suggest answers to some major questions about self-determination and humankind's place in the Universe. Also, if the alien culture is so similar to India's and the Hindu religion, why didn't that culture become the dominant one on Earth? This is a wonderfully original story that loses power like a balloon running out of air. I wish I could rate it higher, but its flaws bring it down to a level of only above average.
Empire of Red Tape.......2002-09-08
Liz Williams' fine "Empire of Bones" would probably be filed under "political science sf," and indeed it begins as if it's going to be a typical example of the naive and sentimental "downtrodden proletarian human meets the benevolent alien genre." Thankfully it quickly turns into something quite different. Set about 50 years from now it tells the story of Jaya Nihalani, an Untouchable and a freedom fighter (she's modeled after India's 20th-century "bandit queen" Poulhan Devi) who is wasting away from a mysterious disease in an Indian hospital. When she overhears her doctor talking to her arch-enemy, the army officer who put down her rebellion (he would have been perfectly happy under the Raj, and maybe Williams patterned him after the infamous British General Dyer), Jaya escapes from the hospital and quickly gets transported to the alien nano-techie "depth ship." Yep, the aliens have colonized us and now they've come to see if we're ready for prime time, and only Jaya . . . etc. etc.
But quickly events take an unexpected turn, the POVs (and the settings) become multiple (Williams' depiction of the culture of the aliens, at least as hierarchical as Jaya's own, is especially fascinating), and the story becomes bitter and cynical (readers of Williams' previous novel, "The Ghost Sister," will hardly be surprised at this turn). The two main alien characters turn out to be neither moral nor immoral (they're neither the all wise and beneveloent Spielberg creations nor the "bug eyed monsters" of early-20th-century lore), but merely bureaucratic schemers, more concerned with their personal advancement and with "office politics" than with the fate of the humans who they've created in the first place. There are some great set-pieces: at one point a movie star (she's from Bollywood, not Hollywood--the Americans are always off stage here), who is to appear in a biopic of Jaya's life, arrives at Jaya's hangout on a cloned mammoth with her own private army (complete with a helicopter): she is led to think it's up to her to save the world (not hardly). Like the book itself, it's a great conception.
It's bitter, sardonic, and a fast read. Political it may be, but it owes far more to Jonathan Swift than to Ursula LeGuin. You'll remember it a while.
Poorly extrapolated.......2002-06-19
The basic idea behind this novel was interesting enough to send me to the corner book store at 1 in the morning, after reading a brief blurb in the NY TImes book section. And the prose was written smoothly enough, and with enough sense of drama, that I finished the novel within the day.
However this novel had major problems. The novel was split into two separate worlds - the alien world, and what was happening on Earth. What happened on the alien world was more of a distraction from the main plot than anything, scarcely tying in to events on Earth. The world was composed primarily of sci-fi cliches, aside from the idea of an advanced alien society being separated into castes, a genuinely interesting idea. Unfortunately, the author diminishes the impact of the castes by clearly siding against them as being unfair and artificial, rather than accepting them as the way of advanced beings. It's a patronizing attitude the author should be embarassed about.
What happens on Earth is, unfortunately, no great shakes either. If Liz Williams is going to introduce archetypical characters, such as a lead enemy who slaughtered Jaya's lover in front of her eyes and dedicated his life to killing Jaya, she should let the drama play out. Instead many characters just get dropped or ignored. In an amazing coincidince, her arch-enemy is lovers with the woman who plays Jaya in a Bollywood movie, a character in there for no good reason except, perhaps, the author's whim to talk about Bollywood.
Another reviewer mentions that this story is based off an earlier short story the author published. I'm not at all surprised to hear this, because this work, the second published novel by the author, had the feel of a grand but small vision, stretched much farther than it should have. The author strongly hints at a sequel; I have to believe that if she releases one, it will be painfully bad.
Even Better than Ghost Sister.......2002-04-28
Liz Williams is simply one of the best science fiction writers on the contemporary scene. Like her excellent previous novel, The Ghost Sister, Empire of Bones emerges from a fascinating premise that is meticulously developed in a gripping story populated with rich characters, both alien and human. And she writes beautiful, direct prose that is evocative without being ostentatious. Few science fiction authors can pull all of this off, but Williams is batting 1000 so far. I am already eagerly awaiting her next book.
Average customer rating:
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Empire of Bones
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: 1556909098 |
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Unabridged 7 tapes Guaranteed satisfaction
Product Description
"In Duel of Eagles, Jeff Long offered an iconoclastic portrait of the Battle of the Alamo and the band of mercenaries who died there. In Empire of Bones, Long returns to the Texas revolution, focusing on the follow-up battle to the Alamo---San Jacinto---and its beleaguered general, Sam Houston. Long recounts how this ragtag army of 700 mutinous desperadoes flayed and gorged their way through Mexican troops sleeping off an afternoon siesta. Intent on revenge, these Texas revolutionaries slaughtered 600 Mexican soldiers in 20 minutes. When the smoke had cleared, the scavenging soldiers discovered among the butchered dead a beautifful Mexican woman. This death, so contrary to the Southern code of honor, became a symbol of the atrocities committed there, and would shroud the battle in controversy for years to come. In spite of Houston's own dubious personal history, Long portrays him as a sympathetic character for whom Jacinto had become a kind of moral Rubicon. Houston's exhortations to decency fell on deaf ears, and the wanton bloodlust so sickened him that he sat out the last hours of the battle injured and in the shade of a magnolia, waiting desperately for night to come and end the slaughter. Vivid, gripping, and grounded in historical research, Empire of Bones is a compelling fictional account of the battle and the man that changed the history of Texas." "Narrator George Guidall's 40-year career in the theatre includes leading roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theatres across the country. The recipient of an Obie Award, he has appeared in over 75 productions ranging from Shakespeare to Neil Simon. He has appeared on major soap operas in New York as well as in TV shows such as Law and Order, The Equalizer, and Spencer for Hire. One of the audiobook industry's most acclaimed readers, Guidall received Audie Awards" for his performances of A Widow For One Year and I Know This Much Is True." [from case]
Amazon.com
Who is the bestselling poet in the United States? Allen Ginsburg? Robert Frost? Walt Whitman? How about Jalal al-Din Rumi? Rumi-mania has struck hard, inspiring rock bands, high fashion, modern dance, and opera. All this from the son of an Islamic preacher born in the foothills of the Pamir Mountains in 1207. If you'd like to separate the hype from the facts, look no further than Franklin Lewis's pièce de résistance, Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, the last word in Rumi scholarship. The first half is a biography of sorts, in which Lewis examines the available information about Rumi's father, his mentors, their teachings, and Rumi's own activities. In the second half, he takes up Rumi, himself, his writings, his message, and the Mevlevi order that grew up around him. He summarizes Western scholarship on Rumi, and perhaps most interesting for the poetry lover, he evaluates translations of Rumi, going back as far as the early 19th century and right up to Coleman Barks and Deepak Chopra. For an academic, Lewis writes with a refreshing swiftness, aplomb, and wit--characteristics Rumi would appreciate. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
This long awaited paperback edition describes the key events in Rumi's magical life story: his unusual childhood, his relationship with his father, and his intense, though controversial, affection for a wandering dervish.
Customer Reviews:
Great Scholarship, but Light on the Poetry.......2007-09-17
I agree with the other reviewers that the scholarship that went into creating this exceptional biography of Rumi and his historical era was exceptional. The level of detail present in this book would be hard to come by in a biography of a more recent historical figure.
My one issue with this book is the general lack of Rumi's poems. I would estimate that there were about 30 or so full poems translated in this book. Clearly, the writer's focus was on Rumi's life, but why title it "...The Life, Teachings and Poetry..." if only to include a brief sampling of the poet's works. Rumi was a mystical poet who translated his life and religious understanding into his work. Without a greater breadth of his work, it is hard to understand who he is. I was although more disappointed by this because the translations in the book were excellent. He wisely decided to translate the content into a lyrical form suitable to English rather than trying to imitate the original Persian poetic forms that Rumi used.
I feel like this book could have been more complete with more poems. Don't buy this book expecting to read much of his work. Buy this book if you want exceptional scholarship on Rumi, his teachers, and his times.
Superlative job!.......2006-01-25
If I could give this book TEN STARS, I would. Prof. Franklin Lewis has done a superlative job in bringing out different facets of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi and his father Baha al-Din, his mentor Borhan al-Din, his charismatic awakener Shams al-Din, along the way clearing up various myths and baseless rumors about these men. Not only does Prof. Lewis paint a full picture of the context for Rumi's development, he gives us a long, in-depth analysis of various phases of Mawlana's life, then provides a shorter "recap" synopsis of his career; presents us with exciting, authentic translations of 50 Rumi poems; gives us a candid assessment of various translators old and new of Rumi's works; outlines the interesting history of the manuscripts of his works; traces the history of the Mevlevi Order; and much more (among other things, I was grateful for his mention of the excellent but relatively unknown Rumi translator Ibrahim Gamard, whose website on Rumi is a goldmine of excellent scholarly translations of many sections of the Masnavi, the Divan, etc. And while your at it, also see Iranian-American poet Zara Houshmand's excellent rhyming translations of Rumi's quatrains at www.iranian.com)
Anyone at all interested in Mawlana in more than a passing fashion simply MUST have Prof. Lewis' Rumi book on their shelves. What a treasure trove!
Now, here's hoping that Prof. Lewis will turn his considerable talents to expand his doctoral dissertation on Hakim Sana'i (d.1131) into a lengthy book on that great Persian Sufi poet-sage (who was such an inspiration to Rumi). And, maybe further down the road, he'll bring us books on Farid al-Din Attar and the later Persian poet Hafiz?? Here's hoping...
Just this one fine book on Rumi is a lifetime achievement.
Rumi: the man behind the mystic poet........2001-11-03
"Light a fire of love within your soul," Rumi tells us, "burn up these thoughts and words from head to toe" (p. 400). In his impressive, 686-page scholarly study of Jalal al-Din Rumi, Persian scholar Franklin Lewis illuminates the man behind the thirteenth century mystic poet and preacher. Through his meticulous research, Lewis, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, offers us "a glimpse" into Rumi's life, as well as new insights into Rumi's teachings, widely-popular poetry, and modern influence.
"Three short phrases tell the story of my life," Rumi said, "I was raw, I got cooked, I burned" (p. 404). Many of the biographical details of Rumi's life remain unknown. ""Most of what we know about Rumi," Lewis writes, "comes to us clouded by a heavy mist of myth and legend" (p. 272). We follow Rumi from his birth to an Islamic preacher in September, 1207 (p. 272) to his death on December 17, 1273 (p. 276). Along the way, Lewis reveals that his subject married at a young age, about seventeen (p. 320), fathered two children, pursued legal and religious studies in Aleppo and Damascus (p. 273), became a lawyer or professor of law (pp. 123, 274), married again (after his first wife died) and fathered at least two more children (p. 320) before his death. Lewis also examines Rumi's relationship with Shams al-Din Tabrizi, the encounter that transformed Rumi's spirituality; "he became more ecstatic in his worship, expressing his love for God not only in a careful attitude of self-renunciation and control, but also through the joy of poetry, music and meditative dance" (p. 274). Rumi and Shams became "Sufi Bohemians," tasting life for themselves. Their path involved "disciplining and training one's soul, watching over one's heart and concentrating the mind on God" (p. 34). Rumi tells us that "the law of religion is like a candle that shows us the way; without that candle we cannot even set foot on the spiritual path. Once the way is lit with the light of the law, the wayfarer begins his spiritual quest" (p. 37). When Shams disappeared mysteriously, we witness Rumi's "frenetic quest to recover the vision of this spiritual guide turned inward" to the point where Rumi discovers Shams "within himself" (p. 275). Inspired by this remarkable relationship, Rumi composed more than 60,000 lines of verse (p. 314). Lewis includes a sampling of fifty Rumi poems in his book.
Lewis tells us that his book should be considered a starting point, at best, for understanding Rumi. Although it should not be considered "the final and definitive biography of Rumi," Lewis writes, it is "intended, then, as a kind of Rumi bible, a manual for anyone interested in the life, poetry, teachings and influence of Jalal al-Din Rumi, who has been called the greatest poet of mankind. The whirling dervishes plant one foot on the floor with their toes fixed around a wooden peg and turn in Rumi's memory. In like manner, I hope this book will help ground all lovers of Rumi as they circle, moth-like, around the flame of his works" (pp. 8-9).
G. Merritt
Not that it matters, however important for researchers.......2001-09-09
At the time of Rumi/Molana/Molavi/Jalaledin Mohammad Balkhi and many tens of centuries before it and centuries after, there was no country called Afghanistan (how could he be an Afghani when Afghanistan didn't exist). I fully understand this is besides the message he conveys in his books, however from a scholarly point of view it would be appropriate to identify his country appropriately. Dari and Persian are the same language (two names for the same language), my friend Dari is short for Darbari, the language of Iran (Persia).
Psychology, Hermeneutics and Rumi.......2000-09-19
Rumi's works are valuable as social science in their reference to psychological development (the journey of soul). In order to understand Rumi, one must take a classical hermeneutical stance to uncover his intended meanings. This can only be done well if one understands Rumi himself. Franklin Lewis' text is now the greatest aid in so doing: there is no other extant text that gives such a thorough and accurate portrait of Rumi. It offers in-depth description and analysis of his antecedents, as well as the 13th century contemporary influences on his own psychological development. Other than Rumi's works themselves, no other book has been written that allows such insight into who he really was. Professor Lewis has written a work that is an invaluable aid in hermeneutically understanding Rumi, and in providing a richness of context through which one can better decode Rumi's own meaning-making.
Book Description
Painstakingly researched by a leading expert, this new edition examines the background, the legacy, and the continuing significance of Jalal al-Din Rumi, 800 years after he was born.
Books:
- Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture: A Novel of Mathematical Obsession
- Variations on Night and Day
- Waverley: or 'Tis Sixty Years Since (Oxford World's Classics)
- Welcome to Higby
- Wet Places At Noon
- White Jacket, or The World in a Man-of-War: Volume Five (Melville)
- Who I Was Supposed to Be: Short Stories
- With Child: Wisdom and Traditions for Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood
- You Are Not a Stranger Here
- A Garden of Sand (Thompson, Earl)
Books Index
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