Harry Potter and the Premenopausal Feminist.
Sometime London-based TV producer and writer Wilde (On the Trail of the Women Warriors, 2000) offers a “nonfiction narrative” of her quest for spirituality via rituals assembled from beliefs supposedly practiced in “Neolithic” Britain.
The author portrays herself as despondent over her fiancé’s death and seeking solace in booze when, now some 20 years ago, she encounters an “Afro-Celtic” woman in Liverpool whose eyes have “triple irises”—the whole book is like this—and who advises her that she, Wilde, is actually a “woman warrior” in search of her destiny. Wilde is then passed to Cyril (no last names here), a shadowy figure who may or may not be a prophet, for initiation into rituals derived primarily from Welsh mythology. She immediately transfers a self-confessed obsession with “what existed before creation” into the context provided by Cyril, and the adventures begin. If Carlos Castañeda, to whom Wilde occasionally refers as a like-minded pioneer in native spiritualities, had only known that such trances, visions, transports to space-time fields, spiral castles, dragon’s lairs, and other figments of the “Otherworld” were available through mere ingestion of Guinness and an occasional whisky, he might have spared himself the risk of peyote. And if visions, per se, can have the ring of illegitimacy, these do: in one, Wilde encounters a “huntress” with a bow and arrow—no mention of a quiver; in another, a strange “French woman” heard from a distance as she strolls up a beach smoking a Gauloise and humming the “Marseillaise.” At one point, Wilde marches off alone into a moonless night to find a circle of standing stones; a few weeks later, in a darkened room, she reveals an ongoing paralytic terror of the dark. “Sexual energy” constantly flows among the companions she chooses to act out a creation myth based on both incestuous rape and—why not?—“virgin birth,” with indecipherable results.
Harry Potter and the Premenopausal Feminist.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58542-182-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A timely, vividly realized reminder to slow down and harness the restorative wonders of serenity.
An exploration of the importance of clarity through calmness in an increasingly fast-paced world.
Austin-based speaker and strategist Holiday (Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue, 2018, etc.) believes in downshifting one’s life and activities in order to fully grasp the wonder of stillness. He bolsters this theory with a wide array of perspectives—some based on ancient wisdom (one of the author’s specialties), others more modern—all with the intent to direct readers toward the essential importance of stillness and its “attainable path to enlightenment and excellence, greatness and happiness, performance as well as presence.” Readers will be encouraged by Holiday’s insistence that his methods are within anyone’s grasp. He acknowledges that this rare and coveted calm is already inside each of us, but it’s been worn down by the hustle of busy lives and distractions. Recognizing that this goal requires immense personal discipline, the author draws on the representational histories of John F. Kennedy, Buddha, Tiger Woods, Fred Rogers, Leonardo da Vinci, and many other creative thinkers and scholarly, scientific texts. These examples demonstrate how others have evolved past the noise of modern life and into the solitude of productive thought and cleansing tranquility. Holiday splits his accessible, empowering, and sporadically meandering narrative into a three-part “timeless trinity of mind, body, soul—the head, the heart, the human body.” He juxtaposes Stoic philosopher Seneca’s internal reflection and wisdom against Donald Trump’s egocentric existence, with much of his time spent “in his bathrobe, ranting about the news.” Holiday stresses that while contemporary life is filled with a dizzying variety of “competing priorities and beliefs,” the frenzy can be quelled and serenity maintained through a deliberative calming of the mind and body. The author shows how “stillness is what aims the arrow,” fostering focus, internal harmony, and the kind of holistic self-examination necessary for optimal contentment and mind-body centeredness. Throughout the narrative, he promotes that concept mindfully and convincingly.
A timely, vividly realized reminder to slow down and harness the restorative wonders of serenity.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-53858-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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