Josh V. (vondeitch) reviewed on 9/25/2014 + 3 more book reviews

After years of hearing others speak about and refer to this book in casual and scholastic conversation, I finally decided to take the plunge and see what all of the fuss was about.

After completing this book last night, I come away feeling conflicted. While there were many insightful and inspirational quotes and stories, I found myself really not liking the protagonist, which happens to be the author.

I fully understand and am sensitive to his mental illness, and mental illness in general, but the way he treats his son, Chris, I found very upsetting. It feels like he is largely ignored or treated as an inconvenience throughout the story. It also feels that he projects his mental illness onto his son. As someone who had a less than perfect childhood, I found myself feeling more for the plight of Chris than I did for the re-discovery of the almighty "Phaerdus".

Again, there is an angle of the story that I found very inspirational. Looking outside of the box. Looking inside of the box. Questioning everything including that very question. Doing things your own way. Self accountability. Self reliance. Recovery. Coming to understand what "is". The concepts of "quality". But through all of the chautauqua, I found my heart breaking over and over again for Chris.

A recommended read for anyone interested in looking a little deeper or differently at life. Deconstructing it. Rebuilding it. And carrying that rebuild with you. But it was weaved into, what I thought was, a very bizarre and troubling father and son story.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details