Hello there,
This is a brief review of two books: The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet, both by Benjamin Hoff. I got them in a nice one volume edition.
The Tao of Pooh is an absolutely charming, simple application of Winnie the Pooh (described as The Uncarved Block) and the other famous A.A. Milne characters to the central tenets of Taoism. Not being a Taoist or knowing anything about Taoism I cannot say how accurate Hoff's book is, all I can say is that it is a beatiful, easy read that I would recommend to anyone.
The Te of Piglet is a bit of a rant against the perils of *not* following the way of Tao. And as such loses most of the charm of the other book. Though I'm glad to say Piglet comes out of it well enough in the end :) I would suggest giving this book a miss, but if you read The Tao of Pooh, you may feel obliged to read this just like I did, regardless of reviews :)
Hope this helps anyone wondering whether or not to read these :)
Good luck,
Jim.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
William Dalrymple: The Age of Kali
Hi,
Through work recently I got to visit India for a couple of weeks. For the first time I got a bit of an understanding of what people mean when they talk about the 'contradictions' of the place. A huge mall right next door to a shanty town. Lovely, friendly people and then the caste system. Cows wondering along in the middle of a 3 lane highway :) Lots of memories from such a short visit.
While there I bought The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple to pass the time while also hoping to gain a little understanding of everything going on around me. And it is a brilliant read. It is a series of essays the author wrote over a few years in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. An often dark and disturbing book (it is not a romantic view of India), it still manages to convey the beauty of the place, along with the friendliness and (frustrating to a European eye) contradictions of the people. The depth of knowledge Dalrymple has on each subject he writes about is astonishing, and never boring, and reflects an obvious deep love and respect for the subcontinent. I recommend this book unreservedly. After reading this I fully intend reading more of William Dalrymple's work and have just ordered Nine Lives, will report back here when I've read it :)
Slán go fóil, Jim.
Through work recently I got to visit India for a couple of weeks. For the first time I got a bit of an understanding of what people mean when they talk about the 'contradictions' of the place. A huge mall right next door to a shanty town. Lovely, friendly people and then the caste system. Cows wondering along in the middle of a 3 lane highway :) Lots of memories from such a short visit.
While there I bought The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple to pass the time while also hoping to gain a little understanding of everything going on around me. And it is a brilliant read. It is a series of essays the author wrote over a few years in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. An often dark and disturbing book (it is not a romantic view of India), it still manages to convey the beauty of the place, along with the friendliness and (frustrating to a European eye) contradictions of the people. The depth of knowledge Dalrymple has on each subject he writes about is astonishing, and never boring, and reflects an obvious deep love and respect for the subcontinent. I recommend this book unreservedly. After reading this I fully intend reading more of William Dalrymple's work and have just ordered Nine Lives, will report back here when I've read it :)
Slán go fóil, Jim.
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