Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest [Paperback]

Florinda Donner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harper Odyssey | Publication Date: May 8, 1992

'Shabono' – the name of the hamlets of palm-thatched dwellings where the Yanomama Indians of Venezuela and southern Brazil live – recounts the vivid and unforgettable experience of anthropologist Florinda Donner's time with an indigenous tr

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Florinda Donner, the longtime colleague and fellow dream-traveler of Carlos Castaneda, offers a riveting autobiographical account of her halting, sometimes unwilling, often bewildering initiation into the world of being-in-dreaming. At turns spellbinding, mysterious, and humorous, Being-In-Dreaming is ultimately an unforgettable spiritual adventure. She is also the author of Shabano and The Witch's Dream.

Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (May 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062502425
• ISBN-13: 978-0062502421
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What an imagination., May 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest (Paperback)

Having read many books on this subject, I am sure Florinda Donner has never been among the Yanomamo and this work of fiction is merely wishful thinking. For an accurate portrait of a Yanomamo woman's life I recommend "Yanoaama: the story of a woman abducted by Brazilian Indians" by Helena Valaro.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visit to a magical world!, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest (Paperback)

A walk through the emerald jungle.....A visit to a magical world!.....A wonderful jungle adventure! Makes me think I'm in my beloved Peruvian Amazon jungle, again, enjoying the enchantment of it all.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best understood in a broader perspective, July 21, 2005

By 

Joe Fiore - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shabono: A Visit to a Remote and Magical World in the South American Rain Forest (Paperback)

Florinda's books seem to have been written (or published) in the inverse order of the experiences that gave rise to them, if I understand correctly (there are a few references here and there to her past). In light of this, it's useful to know that she was hardly the "geeky anthropologist" (as another reviewer put it) that she appears to be.
This book could have been better if she'd been more open about her background. In all of her books she presents herself as being a little dumb or naive, likely in order to help the ordinary reader empathize with her character. I don't know if this is really necessary. Castaneda, likewise, always plays the idiot in his books, yet with him it's a transparent technique, whereas with her she never lets on...
I recommend reading all three of her books, in the opposite order that they were published in, starting with Being-in-Dreaming. They're not among the absolute best in this genre, but seem much more genuine than most of the others.