A philosophical analysis of time that fails to connect on a human level.
Parihar offers a poetic reflection on the nature of time.
In the titular poem, the author contemplates time, “the elusive wanderer” and “eternal paradox” that “whispers its secrets in the language of moments.” Time undergirds all things, all bodies: “Within every being, a microscopic ballet, / Cells dancing to time’s rhythmic sway,” Parihar writes in “Time the Cause of Decay.” Personifying his subject, the poet imagines time as everything from a “Cosmic Conductor” and “Temporal Alchemist” to a “Silent Observer” and “Weaver of Ages.” He praises time’s superpowers, writing, “Wearing a crown of moments, endless and wise, / Time reigns supreme in celestial skies”in “Time the Super Power.”And yet, time is ineffable, and at its core, remains an unknown: “Silent sands in the unseen hourglass flow, / Time’s dimension, where mysteries grow” (“Time as Unknown”).Still, Parihar encourages acceptance, stating, “So let us embrace the ebb and flow of time, / With open hearts and spirits unafraid, / For joy and sorrow, like rhythm and rhyme, / Are but the threads in life’s intricate braid” in “Time the Reason of Joy and Sorrow.” In the closing poem, “Time and I,” the author reflects on his personal relationship with time, remarking how time “Remains beyond my grasp, / A force both captivating and cruel, / Guiding me along its winding path.” While Parihar crafts perceptive metaphors like, “A pendulum swinging between yesterday’s regrets, / and tomorrow’s whispered promises” in the poem “Time,”the obsessive focus on time feels myopic in scope. The author clearly has a handle on poetic form, rhyme, meter, and metaphor; it would have been refreshing to see him expound on other topics. Additionally, it may be difficult for readers to relate to a speaker who is an all-knowing, all-seeing consciousness rather than a recognizable human being grounded in a specific time and place.
A philosophical analysis of time that fails to connect on a human level.Pub Date: March 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798876968104
Page Count: 63
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.
Avuncular observations on matters historical from the late popularizer of the past.
McCullough made a fine career of storytelling his way through past events and the great men (and occasional woman) of long-ago American history. In that regard, to say nothing of his eschewing modern technology in favor of the typewriter (“I love the way the bell rings every time I swing the carriage lever”), he might be thought of as belonging to a past age himself. In this set of occasional pieces, including various speeches and genial essays on what to read and how to write, he strikes a strong tone as an old-fashioned moralist: “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude,” he thunders. “It’s a form of ingratitude.” There are some charming reminiscences in here. One concerns cajoling his way into a meeting with Arthur Schlesinger in order to pitch a speech to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy: Where Richard Nixon “has no character and no convictions,” he opined, Kennedy “is appealing to our best instincts.” McCullough allows that it wasn’t the strongest of ideas, but Schlesinger told him to write up a speech anyway, and when it got to Kennedy, “he gave a speech in which there was one paragraph that had once sentence written by me.” Some of McCullough’s appreciations here are of writers who are not much read these days, such as Herman Wouk and Paul Horgan; a long piece concerns a president who’s been largely lost in the shuffle too, Harry Truman, whose decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan McCullough defends. At his best here, McCullough uses history as a way to orient thinking about the present, and with luck to good ends: “I am a short-range pessimist and a long-range optimist. I sincerely believe that we may be on the way to a very different and far better time.”
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781668098998
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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