The Fifth Sacred Thing (Maya Greenwood, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
Helpful Score: 2
This is a very dense, interesting book with a lot to say. I'm glad I read it. You can read this story on two levels (individually or both at the same time, it's up to you), so I'll talk about them seperately just for the purposes of this review.
1) The Plot/Story: If you're a fan of distopian stories, you should definitely read this. It's a fascinating look at our country after it suffers a political/religious upheaval and ecological disasters. The solutions to these problems sought by the protagonists don't follow either the glorification of technology or the rejection of it many distopian stories take. I find the rise of the theocracy based in Angel City super creepy and just way too believable for comfort. The pace drags in places and the story could have been tightened up a bit, my own cynicism made it pretty hard for me to find certain parts involving the extreme effectiveness of non-violent protests believable, but overall I found the book engaging and interesting.
2) The Message: If you're a Pagan of any kind, follower of an Earth-centered religion, follower of any kind of "spiritual but not religious" path, or are just interested in reading about any of those things, you should also read this book. I've read some of Starhawk's other non-fiction works and attended a talk she gave at my university (she's a very inspiring speaker!), so I could definitely see this book as her trying to show what a society that functions with the kinds of spiritual and political beliefs she promotes might look like. I myself don't agree with her entirely on either subject, but it's not really necessary to wholely believe in it in order to get something out of the book. Reading parts that I found a bit unbelievable (the afore mentioned usefulness of complete non-violence against zelots with guns for instance) or parts that I didn't feel would be really useful in real life (banishing people to live outside the community instead of prisons, for instance) just got me to think and clarify what I believed and what I might do instead. That's useful.
Overall, I think this is a worthwhile book.
1) The Plot/Story: If you're a fan of distopian stories, you should definitely read this. It's a fascinating look at our country after it suffers a political/religious upheaval and ecological disasters. The solutions to these problems sought by the protagonists don't follow either the glorification of technology or the rejection of it many distopian stories take. I find the rise of the theocracy based in Angel City super creepy and just way too believable for comfort. The pace drags in places and the story could have been tightened up a bit, my own cynicism made it pretty hard for me to find certain parts involving the extreme effectiveness of non-violent protests believable, but overall I found the book engaging and interesting.
2) The Message: If you're a Pagan of any kind, follower of an Earth-centered religion, follower of any kind of "spiritual but not religious" path, or are just interested in reading about any of those things, you should also read this book. I've read some of Starhawk's other non-fiction works and attended a talk she gave at my university (she's a very inspiring speaker!), so I could definitely see this book as her trying to show what a society that functions with the kinds of spiritual and political beliefs she promotes might look like. I myself don't agree with her entirely on either subject, but it's not really necessary to wholely believe in it in order to get something out of the book. Reading parts that I found a bit unbelievable (the afore mentioned usefulness of complete non-violence against zelots with guns for instance) or parts that I didn't feel would be really useful in real life (banishing people to live outside the community instead of prisons, for instance) just got me to think and clarify what I believed and what I might do instead. That's useful.
Overall, I think this is a worthwhile book.
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