Book Review: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

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A very short book, only 133 pages published in 1926. To be honest I have no idea why I downloaded this. I have a vague memory of listening to a radio programme on the author some time ago, which I found interesting, so it must have been that!  Gibran is described in Wikipedia as, 'the third best selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi.'  

The book is written in bible-esque so if you are not a fan of that or indeed of religion it may not be a book for you.  On the other hand and bearing in mind this was published in 1926 almost every passage can be related to every single one of us and our lives today.

There are no chapter numbers in this short volume but they are defined by the questions asked of 'The Prophet' by the assembled town folk as he prepares to leave them, returning to his 'home'.

Marriage

Children

Giving

Eating and Drinking 

Work

Joy and Sorrow

Crime and Punishment 

Freedom

Reason and Passion

Pain

Teaching

Friendship

Good and Evil

Prayer

Pleasure

Religion

Death

So many of the words written by Gibran over 80 years ago, must surely, if you are tempted to purchase this book, resonate with something in your life today and his simple but reasoning outlook will remind you to step back and reflect on how you look at life and maybe think that there is something that you can do to change, for the better, on how you interact with others and with yourself!

I'm not saying that I have had a religious or moral epiphany while reading this book, I personally still have no idea whether I am an atheist, agnostic or just a plane old fence sitter waiting for something different or better to come along, if that is indeed possible.  I did write somewhere in regard to the Bible, and I suppose in the same tone the Koran would be included, that I look upon the former as a good novel and if only more people would read it (them) without the religious zealotry and bigotry surrounding it (them), the world would probably be a far better place for all humankind, but that aint gonna happen.  But that should not take away from the fact that there are important life lessons in these works that are as relevant today as they were when they were written, as Mr Gibran's words, I believe, fall firmly within that description.

Enjoy..... 

Editing for Kindle: 4 out 5 

Reading Enjoyment: 5 out of 5
Plot:
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
Chapters:
Page length: 133 

 

Don't Mess with an Old Lady!

Don't know where this came from, but it's a keeper.......

Two businessmen were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new shop...

As yet, the shop wasn't ready, with only a few shelves set up.

One said to the other, "I bet any minute now some pensioner is going to walk by, put their face to the window, and ask what we're selling."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough,

a curious old woman walked to the window, had a peek, and in a soft voice asked :

"What are you selling here?"

One of the men replied sarcastically, "We're selling arseholes."

Without skipping a beat, the old dear said, "Must be doing well . . . only two left."

Lesson: Don’t mess with the wisdom of the old .   .  .  .  .  .  .  we are not yet brain dead!!