The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

True to its title, the book teaches the fundamental principles of Taoism through Winnie-the-Pooh. Charmingly simple, yet strikingly profound, Hoff beautifully introduces his readers to Taoism.

Take a moment and consider the concept of this book: eastern philosophy explained using a children's storybook character. Cute? Yes. Borderline absurd? Perhaps. Yet, Hoff brilliantly executes the seemingly silly concept. Pooh is Taoism personified. The Winnie-the-Pooh stories Hoff references simplify Taoism's principles and teachings while his references to Chinese writers, Chinese terms, Chinese paintings, western philosophers, musicians, etc. add a delicate flavor to the novel. The Tao of Pooh merges simplicity and profundity into one delightful work of art.

My only complaint is the complaining. At times, Hoff's tone becomes whiny. The tone reminds me of a teenager vehemently defending his/her peculiar lifestyle choices to a large group of overly judgmental peers. However, he tends to have a good point. Knowledge for the sake of flaunting one's imagined superiority is rude and distasteful: definitely not a good way of living one's life. However, when Hoff bashed science, I felt he went too far. Granted, it was only a single sentence, but it struck a chord deep within my gut. He accused "Nearsighted Science" of asking questions it will never know the answer to and coming up with more questions instead. True, science raises more questions than it answers, but I would not go so far as to call it a waste of time. I see science as pushing the boundaries of human knowledge: a useful pursuit (I rather like running water, electricity, computers, indoor plumbing, fiber optics, vaccines, antibiotics, etc.).

Clearly, I am biased towards science. I simply felt some of Hoff's refutations of other pursuits of knowledge/wisdom were too harsh and confrontational. Negative criticism aside, the book does possess redeeming qualities. The stories of Pooh and his friends wonderfully illustrate the tenets of Taoism, which are elegant in their own right.

Therefore, I reward The Tao of Pooh four daggers out of five. Its honest simplicity and charming insight make it a worthy addition to any private library, despite its sporadic fault-finding.

Yours meditatively,

Gabriel Gethin

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

One night, five children mysteriously disappear from their homes in Paris, Glasgow, Rome, and London. Five years later, the five teenagers and their governess, Madame Vileroy, arrive at an exclusive holiday party in New York. The Faust "family" has just enrolled in Marlowe, a school for elite students, in the middle of the year. They use their "gifts" given to them by Madame Vileroy to rise to suspicious heights at Marlowe. Driven by selfish obsession and making deals with the very devil, the Faust teens draw nearer their goals. That is, until two of them uncover a secret.

Another Faust is an exciting book. The plot draws you in more and more as you read on. During the last few chapters, the book becomes very difficult to put down. I commend the writers on such a well paced build up. Another exceptional aspect of the book's writing is the short "pre-chapters." At the beginning of every chapter, there are a few sentences/paragraphs of italicized writing. They usually do not relate to the story at the present, but over time, their meaning becomes clear. Either that, or they foreshadow a future plot development. The pre-chapters add suspense but also aid understanding. It is a creative, enriching touch.

As mentioned in the plot summary above, the children make deals with the very devil. The devil exploits their weaknesses and desires to coerce them into making deals. This a very interesting concept, although not original to this book (it is not called Another Faust for nothing). There a personal conflict between immediate gratification and redemption. It makes a meaningful story, but sometimes, this one character comes off as downright repulsive. The girl, Victoria, is obsessed with winning. She makes a deal so she can read minds to cheat. She is absolutely soulless. Everything about her revolves around being the best and winning. She can be really obnoxious, but the book would suffer without her presence. If you ever become disgusted with her while you are reading, just keep going. It will get better. Fortunately, not all the characters are as horrible as Victoria.

The fierce faults of Victoria might not upset you. I just felt a little threatened. I mean, honestly, this girl got to make a deal with the devil! And I call myself an evil cousin... I shall have to try harder.

I give Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri a Satanic 4 out of 5 daggers.







Devilishly yours,
Gabriel Gethin

Stick Figure: A Diary of my Former Self by Lori Gottlieb

Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb is the true story of young Lori’s experience of living with anorexia. The novel is made up of journal entries from Lori’s youth that she collected, put in order, and then published in an attempt to let an everyday person gaze into the thought process of an anorexic girl. The book reveals some causes of anorexia in modern society as well as shows the slow progression of Lori being a self-conscious pre-teen girl to becoming a severe case of anorexia.

First of all, this is definitely one of the love/hate books. You either love it or you hate it. There doesn’t seem to be much of an in between. I am, for my own reasons, part of the “I love this book” category. I really enjoyed this book. It really lets you get a fuller understanding of what anorexia is and why it is so hard to cure.

Anorexia is as much a mental disease as it is a physical disease. Most people don’t know that though. This book clearly reveals the mental aspect of it because it is told in journal entries. The author is literally just writing down her thoughts and what happens to her daily. This really lets you step into the character’s shoes and walk around in them.

Before you start reading this book, you should become familiar with some of the signs of anorexia (other than not eating). There are a myriad of ways to detect the beginnings of anorexia before the person completely stops eating. If you know what they are in advance, then you are better able to identify them early on in the book. Also, if you know the signs, then you can notice that some of the causes of anorexia are actually in modern media. The pressure to be thin can drive people to the point of being anorexic.

One of the things about this book that I believe scares people is that sometimes, you notice that you yourself think in the same way that Lori does. You realize that even though you aren’t anorexic, sometimes you skip a meal, or try to lose weight by going on a diet, or keep track of calorie consumption. This doesn’t mean you're anorexic too, but it does make you think. Am I so different from Lori? If I’m not careful, could I develop anorexia too? These thoughts may be haunting, but they are what make the book so powerful.

I highly recommend this book.

5 out of 5 daggers.

Well-fed, but thinly yours,

Gabriel Gethin