Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Taoist on Wall Street

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I, too, read this book several years ago and remember it vividly. For a long time it was almost like a bible for me. I carried it everywhere, would read parts of it to friends. I found that it engaged every emotion. I particularly enjoyed the first part, where the"orphan' boy sets out on his journey from the great canyons of China to find his father in the great canyons of Wall Street. Every scene is vivid and gripping, especially the one in which he comes upon the great panda bear - a terrifying and thrilling omen (no cuddly stereotyping here!) This is a book that is very funny and mysterious at the same time, a combination of gloppy egg foo yung and stirring oriental mysticism. (With a little deli thrown in for variety). How did he manage to do it? This writer is a magician and "Confessions" is a literary classic - your loss if you miss it.

I love his work. It is compelling and beautiful and this is his most incredible story. It is about adventure, family, love and the search for self. It is a life changing book and I wish he would hurry up with that sequel to Ruin Creek!

This book is a book of a lifetime. It is a book that I respect and pay tribute to. David Paynes masterpiece! East to West this story implants characters and circumstances that cultivate your mind. This book is an inspiration to entering life and its stages.

This book carried me away. I was stuck thinking about it for years. David Payne followed this book with "Early From the Dance". He is a moving writer. You could think of him as a cross between J.R.R. Tolkien and Anne Tyler. Go ahead, read it, you'll see what I mean.

He rings the bell often for any who have ever delved into and admired philosophical Taoism, but not without a price as paid to Christianity, contemporary Judaism and Acquisitionism... Payne has obviously paid his dues in all quarters and more importantly, to erudition. A masterful work complete with episodic prose-poetry.

The pace, style, characters reflected the East vs. West throughout the book. The journey of discovery was spiritual, enlightening, comical, cynical, allegorical.....a wonderful experience!

This book is a book of a lifetime. It is a book that I respect and pay tribute to. David Paynes masterpiece! East to West this story implants characters and circumstances that cultivate your mind. This book is an inspiration to entering life and its stages.

The Yin and Yang of it all ... I've finished reading David Payne's Confessions of a Taoist on Wall Street and was telling the boss about the most wonderful aspect of this read being the absolute emotional tug of war (speaking of Ying & Yang) readers will experience as they follow the adventures of half-Chinese/half-American, Sun I (pronounced Sun-Yee) as he confronts life outside the Taoist priesthood (he'd been dedicated to) to pursue an ultimate enlightenment (through his American father's world) on Wall Street (the Tao within the Dow and vice versa). Confessions is a lesson in philosophy and vocabulary amidst so much more. While the author can write spot-on dialogue of any kind (including Brooklynese), his vocabulary (for this reader) requires a dictionary be handy. I was jotting down words (to look up later) like a dervish.

Confessions starts in China and ends up in lower Manhattan. We root for this guy at every turn, even when we see him turning from mellow to monster ... he's befriended by another Chinese-American already living here. Wo is one of life's poor slobs who (like so many of us) works hard while constantly falling behind ... he owns his own restaurant in Chinatown and has two daughters (one gorgeous, the other pretty; the former somewhat icily pragmatic, the other mellow and forgiving). We want Sun I to fall for the latter, of course (Yin-Mi), but he falls for the former (Li). And just when we think we can safely dislike Li, that old Yin and Yang acts up again and we find ourselves rooting for her (to escape). Hey, no spoilers here ... go read the thing. It's a terrific book by one of my favorite American authors. The characters are as rich as any I've ever read. Payne paints Wall Street with the Dickensian brush it deserves. My favorite character throughout this wonderful read was a Jewish seat holder named Kahn. This guy's monologues are Roth-like. He's hilarious and profound. Author Payne is from the south, but you'll never guess it. The bonus (to all great reads, I feel) is the education you get: Confessions offers Chinese philosophy, Greek mythology, all forms of literature and poetry, Yiddish, business (to include stock market parlance) and a genuine touch of New York (and China). This guy (David Payne) is one of the best around, amici ... so go READ him.

I was fascinated with this book in many regards. First, it is a truly a masterpiece which one can't stop reading until it's over. Second, most importantly, the author was able to grasp in depth and reveal in a very accessible way two seemingly opposite life philosophies and eras as represented by Eastern Tao and Western Dow.

I read this book years ago, and still think of it fondly as one of my lifetime favorites. I am going to try to find out if there's an audio version, or audios of Payne's other books. I almost envy those who haven't read it yet. And for those who haven't - you're in for a delicious treat!