Customer Reviews

Abra

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

That's what Abra - the publication I read was titled Gaining Ground - was for me. This was one of the few, if not only, solid, thought provoking, challenging (the adjectives could be many) books which presented a strong woman who recognised her life within the box and got out without being patronising to the character or the reader. A surprisingly gripping novel, although I certainly didn't like Abra to begin with, Barfoot's world is real and I found myself as drawn to it as Abra.

The message I got out of this book: what do you really want
for yourself, and are you creating your life that way??
Finding an answer to this question again and again is probably
the most important thing to live a fulfilling life.
Living in Germany I was happy to find a German translation
of the title, that has been translated most carefully, so that
the book also "works" in German.

This remarkable book explains the zen or Buddist experience in a way that I could really relate to and understand. The basis of Buddist thinking is "no desire", which is what she eventually is able to encompass. To our way of thinking, this is selfish but I truly feel that this is one of the most profound books about Eastern thinking that I have ever read. It made that philosophy or religion clear as nothing else has. I will cherish this book!!! How many of us are really able to be truly ourselves?

When things were getting me down, and I wanted to flee, but
couldn't, Abra's escape provided me with a kind of refuge.
By the extremity of her escape I could see that, although it
sounded ideal, there were drawbacks as well. I really loved
the description of the cottage when she first saw it. This is
really a memorable book, and I thank Joan Barfoot for writing
it.It is one of the few books that I have read twice in my
many years of being a "chain reader".