Many Faces to Many Places [Paperback]

Judy Azar LeBlanc (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2006

This Compelling magical adventure story unfolds as a three part journey that draws a realistic picture of our own walk through life. Part one reflects upon the up stages of life where possibilities and potential are endless; part two reflects upon the down stages where the power of choice is explored; and part three represents a time of reflection where wisdom and understanding are realized. The story is written allegorically and is animated in style. The underlying message of Many Faces to Many Places is learning that loving yourself and others is the most important thing that we can do while we are still alive. Many Faces to Many Places illustrates that although life does have its trials and tribulations, there is always something good that comes out of them, and that is what we need to focus on.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bravo - Excellent says BookReview.com Heather Froeschl says: Judy Azar LeBlanc has written a memorable book that is inspirational and timeless. Her creativity abounds and her ability to impart words of wisdom through her characters is uniquely executed. You won t soon forget the journey in this tale and may be inspired to take a closer look at your own." Bookreview.com --BookReview.com

Allegorically using the medium of fiction is done beautifully by the author - J. Kaval, Katha Kshetre International Literary Journal --Katha Kshetre International Literary Journal

This Weeks SPOTLIGHT Book -- May 2006 Very rarely a book comes along that impresses me with it's wit, charm and clarity in dealing with all the emotions, traits and frailties of the complex animal known as human beings, as well as Many Faces to Many Places by Judy Azar LeBlanc. LeBlanc's latest book shines like a diamond in a coal mine and is a gem is of rare quality indeed. Her metaphors are unique and crystal clear and offer insight and timeless wisdom into the art of living life to its fullest. Her use of familiar characters in a very illuminating manner brought smile after smile to my face as I read this nearly magical book. To author Judy Azar LeBlanc, Bravo! Excellent! Many Faces to Many Places is an outstanding, thoroughly enjoyable, and powerful book. One that everyone should read and a book that anyone reading it will benefit. --NewBookReviews.org

About the Author

Judy Azar LeBlanc was born in Raton, New Mexico, and was raised and educated in Albuquerque. She is a graduate of San Jose University, in San Jose, California and is the author of Things my Father Never Taught Me, The Compromise, and The Unveiling.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Xulon Press (August 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594678669
• ISBN-13: 978-1594678660
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,381,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Honored Member of the Cambridge Who's Who, Toastmasters International, and the East Texas Writer's Guild, Award Winning Author; Judy Azar LeBlanc was born in Raton, New Mexico, and was raised and educated in Albuquerque. She is a graduate of San Jose University, in San Jose, California, where she did graduate work in Industrial Psychology.

Her fifth title "Theology 101 in Bite-Size Pieces is preceded by her multi-award winning title "Many Faces to Many Places". Other works include "Things My Father Never Taught Me", "The Compromise," and "The Unveiling." Judy Azar LeBlanc is internationally published in the FONATUR Tourist Magazine sponsored by the federal government of Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Especially liked the Easy Style, September 3, 2005

By 

S. V. Swamy "Swamy" (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Many Faces to Many Places (Paperback)

The following review was submitted by: S.V. SWAMY & CLICK TO VIEW S.V. Swamy's Reviews

"Many Faces to Many Places - A Story" by Judy is a

highly readable, philosophical / spiritual fantasy.

Using allegory and symbolism, Judy tells very

eloquently the problem that all of us face at some

time or other in our life. Many Faces is the girl in

this story, who escapes from a witch and goes on a

journey to seek fulfillment. She meets many spirits in

various shapes, sizes and is guided by them. She goes

through a dark spiritual desert of lust, greed etc.,

and comes out successfully. She meets a Veiled Man, a

fatherly figure, full of wisdom and love. When he hugs

her and lifts his veil, he disappears and she finds

that he is no other than her indweller. This book

touched a respondent chord in my heart since Judy's

philosophy is very similar to our eastern philosophy.

I especially liked the easy style of Judy. The

symbolism is not difficult to understand. Her play on

words like Fake (King Ekaf) and False (Maiden Eslaf)

is really insightful. The book makes an interesting

read to young and old alike. The first part can be

read out to children as a fantasy, while the whole

book (which is quite short) will appeal to the

spiritual seeker.

The trick is in living that philosophy. So, Many Faces

had to go to Many Places and go through Many Phases to

discover her true Self! You and I are also going

through such transitions all the time. Intellectual

knowledge has to be absorbed through experience. Once

she discovers that she is One with All and whatever

she is seeing and experiencing outside is but a

manifestation of her inside, she feels at peace since

she now knows true love to one and all.

The book is printed well, but the editing could have

been better. I hope the future editions will take care

of that aspect.

I recommend the book strongly

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully realized allegory on life, June 2, 2005

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Many Faces to Many Places (Paperback)

I usually skim books before reading them just to get an idea of what I'm getting myself into, and after quickly scanning through Judy Azar LeBlanc's "Many Faces to Many Places" I thought I was sitting down to read a book aimed at children. The author presents us with a childlike character named Many Faces who possesses the ability to converse with nature, with everything from trees to water to butterflies. Sure sounds like a children's book, right? Then there's the beginning of the story, a beginning that finds Many Faces escaping from a vicious witch who has held the youngster for an indeterminate amount of time. She breaks out of her confinement because the moon tells her to do so. Hmmm. The kids will probably love this book. It's at this point, however, that one should stop in his or her tracks and prepare to be amazed. For once Many Faces leaves her prison and embarks on a strange journey through a land of "timeless knowledge," the book speaks to the hearts of self-aware adults everywhere. "Many Faces to Many Places" isn't a children's book; it's a dense (not in a negative sense) allegorical story about nothing less than life itself. Most kids wouldn't begin to understand this book, in my opinion.

Many Faces's journey allows her to meet many interesting creatures, including time in the form of a rushing river, a great golden butterfly of happiness named Elusive, a pair of floating eyes called Faith, and an old man known as Pain. She also encounters several ominous characters deep in a cave, characters with names like Greedy, Stingy, and Betrayal that attempt to trap her and keep her from completing her journey. She escapes from their grasp, however, and continues on her way only to run into more trouble in the Land of Forgotten. Here, Many Faces falls prey to the treacherous King Ekaf and his depraved subjects. Now bearing the name Eslaf on the orders of the king, Many Faces must endure years of indignities. The citizens of this realm always wear masks in order to project aspects of their identities. Too, the haves of the kingdom regularly victimize the have-nots. The deities in this world are money and time, and worshippers must kneel daily to statues of these gods. Other activities, best left unsaid here, rapidly turn Many Faces into a jaded, distant young woman. Only after she escapes from King Ekaf and continues her journey does she find the ultimate truth in a conclusion that feels like it came right out of the Bible.

I have mixed feelings about "Many Faces to Many Places." On the one hand, I thought the story wildly and wonderfully imaginative. LeBlanc's ability to encapsulate many of life's experiences, whether they are the ups or the downs we all inevitably face, is phenomenal. It's easy to read a book like this and think, "Oh, I have gone through that. Everyone who has been alive knows all about that." Who among us hasn't dealt with the temptations of greed, stinginess, and betrayal? Who among us hasn't wondered about the elusiveness of happiness? Who among us has never marveled at the passage of time? The difference between Judy Azar LeBlanc and us (at least most of us) is that she not only sees all of these trials and tribulations as a contiguous whole but also sees how they one aspect of life leads to another. I'm quite impressed that anyone can sit down at a word processor and put most of life's experiences together in a logical narrative AND couch such events in eye grabbing allegory. I also liked the idea of making the protagonist a person of "many faces," which obviously is a representation of the many faces of humanity. That LeBlanc manages to fit all of this into ninety plus pages is a rather impressive feat.

On the other hand, I suspect more than a few readers may have a problem with the conclusion of the story. In what can only rank as a tacit endorsement of Christianity, Many Faces meets up with an enigmatic man--definitely a Christ figure--on a mountaintop after fleeing from the Land of Forgotten. Their meeting ultimately reveals to Many Faces the errors of her past and allows her to work past them in order to achieve a spiritual sort of "rebirth." The language in this section is unmistakably Christian in tone and theme. Not that I have a problem with that. Although I am not a Christian in any sense of the word, I'm not hostile to their belief systems either. But a lot of people are, so much so that you can literally see the blinders descending over their eyes when they are confronted with anything that smacks of Christianity. If you classify as one of these individuals, take note of this fact before sitting down with the book. You will probably still enjoy the other two thirds of the story, however.

The Christian tone of the book isn't really a problem for most of us, though. The real value of the book is putting yourself in Many Faces's place when she first encounters the wonders of love, truth, and happiness as well as the dangers represented by materialism and vice. On more than one occasion, early memories of my life flashed before my mind's eye as I recalled how I too dealt with newfound experiences and emotions and, like everyone else, became a fuller person because of it. I heartily recommend spending the hour or two it takes to read "Many Faces to Many Places." It's more than likely that you'll consider it time well spent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Many Faces to Many Places is an engaging and perceptive flight of fancy that offers a maturity that is welcome in this genre, July 5, 2006

By 

Craig Hart (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Many Faces to Many Places (Paperback)

Many Faces to Many Places is an allegorical journey through...life, really. The main character is a girl named Many Faces, who has the unusual ability to converse with nature. She goes on a journey through a strange world of allegorical plentitude, where all the characters have suitably descriptive names, such as Old Man Pain and Elusive.

Some readers, as well as other reviewers, have classified this volume as a children's book, but I must disagree. Whether or not it was intended to be a juvenile book, I don't know, but the surprising depth contained would, I believe, be missed by many younger readers, if only because it addresses many issues that would be foreign to them.

Many Faces to Many Places is an engaging and perceptive flight of fancy that, instead of being frivolous, offers a maturity and profundity that is more than welcome in this genre.