Customer Reviews

Tales of Adam

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this book, we follow a hunter-gatherer, Adam, and his son Abel through different episodes of their lives where Adam teaches his son what he must know not only to survive but to live a good life. As with all good parables, each of these has layers of meaning. There are practical, emotional, and spiritual lessons contained in each story. Quinn shows that the knowledge and experience that humans gained over millions of years as hunter-gatherers still applies, even though few of us actually live as hunter-gatherers. The wisdom of that life is very much needed today.

As in The Story of B, The Man Who Grew Young, and The Holy, Quinn inspires and encourages with a love for the world and for life that our culture clearly lacks. I closed the book with tears in my eyes because Quinn had once again reminded me of that love. Throughout, he writes with a poetic fire that builds and builds to the final story "The Web Woven Endlessly" which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.

This is a book for all ages that will be read and understood differently at different times in one's life and I think new readers as well as long-time Quinn fans will love it. How do we see ourselves? Our lives as a whole? How do we act and move on in difficult situations? What is life all about anyway? Big questions are addressed in this book and are answered by profoundly satisfying stories, which bring one deeper into the vision at the core of all Quinn's work, the vision that fostered the lives of humans for millions of years and that can only enhance our own lives when we adopt it for ourselves.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Daniel Quinn, best know for his Ishmael trilogy (Ishmael, My Ishmael & The Story of B), has released some more writings in this vein of thought. That is the good news; the bad news is, the book is only about a hundred pages long.

For those fans of Quinn's earlier writings it will be a treat, a little treasure to be savored over and over again. I have already read it twice and got even more out of it the second time. The book is broken into seven teaching stories, much like the stories used to illustrate points in the trilogy, except they are not woven into a larger story.

The stories are each told by `Adam' to his son Able. The stories teach lessons on sustainability, greed, wisdom and knowledge. They teach Able and us our place in the universe and our responsibility as creatures of reason. In teaching about ecology, Adam states, "Every track begins and ends in the hand of god. Every track is a lifetime long." P.22.

In talking about place Adam says: "No Place where there is life is a desert except to man." P8. This sentiment on place echoes much of Terry Tempest Williams' thought. Towards the end, Adam tells his son, "We are seekers of holy places." P.74, and that is true of many of us. We are questers on a journey to find out who we are and our place in the universe. These sorts of stories might help us along the path.

For anyone who has read Ishmael- this is for you.
Although the book is short, the stories that are in it are well worth the price.
For people who have not read Ishmael- read Ishmael and Story of B first! They may change your life forever.

This is a short book which is full of wisdom and thoughts to ponder.

Adam tells his son after teaching him what he knows about the Law of Life,"If any man tells you he knows the whole of the Law of Life or that he can encompass it in words, that man is a fool or a liar, because the Law of Life is written in the universe and no man can know the whole of it. If ever you're in doubt about the Law, consult the caterpillar or the gull or the jackal; no man will even know it better or follow it more steadfastly than they.".

Quinn takes us back to a time when all creatures were equal in wisdom and rights and intertwined with each other for survival. The "fire of life" was passed from one to another in the natural order of life. What man has forgotten over time is that we are only an equal member of that order of life.

"We make our journey in the company of others; the deer, the rabbit, the bison, and the quail walk before us, and the lion, the eagle, the wolf, the vulture, and the hyena walk behind us. All our paths lie together in the hand of god and none is wider than any other or favored above any other. The worm that creeps beneath your foot is making its journey across the hand of god as surely as you are."

Here is a review from my professor daughter:I have just finished Tales of Adam and, as with all of DQs books, have come away with a new sense of direction. As a business instructor at a local college, I find that getting others to understand the realities we face is often easier using parables and then letting the students come to their own conclusions. This book is a gem for that - it is short, simple, beautiful stories that do not allow the reader to miss the point. I have already used "The Business of a Rabbit" in my Business Ethics class and several students have asked where they can get the book. The message travels on, one person at a time.

Throughout reading Tales of Adam, i was reminded of past and ongoings themes of Mr. Quinn's work, being that, beautifully woven into each paragraph is a sense of animistic spirituallity. These seven simple tales delve deeper into those concepts in refreshing and entertaining ways with the use of parables and fables to let not only our imaginations run wild, but to offer a perspective that is so sadly unheard in most of the modern world. That is the perspective of an indigineous, tribal hunter-gatherer, and his son. After finishing this relatively short read, i felt i had come a few more paces in my own journey towards re-connecting with my home and understanding more clearly the spirituallity and lifestyle of those who live in the community of life with reverence. While this is definetly something for fans of Daniel Quinn and those interested in (Neo) Tribalism, i'd like to recommend it to others aching for something new, something different, something to be used as a tool for saving the world.

I consider Daniel Quinn one of the most important writers of our time, and I was abundantly pleased with Tales of Adam.
Yes, it left me longing for more; but more is already there in the form of Ishmael, Story of B, and My Ishmael. To critique the brevity of this book is ridiculous. Being excerpts from one of the previous incarnations of Ishmael, it is not intended to be a work like any of his full-length novels, yet it manages to breathe with the same life of any of this work's brain-siblings.
At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, the timeless wisdom and beautiful prose of Tales of Adam brought me to tears at several points - as much because I am a father as for the fact that I am a child of this world who relates so much to the reverence Quinn holds for the world of life around and within us.
For long-time Quinn fans, this is a Quinn-tessential book to add to your collection. For those new to Quinn's writings, this is a fabulous introduction to this important author, who so masterfully weaves together significant ideas and compelling narrative.
As always Mr. Quinn, THANK YOU!

It's a very short read. As much as I liked Ishmael and The Story of B, this didn't impress me as much. I got the feeling that Quinn is now publishing books just to make money. That's kind of disappointing to me and if you are familiar with Quinn's work perhaps you would understand. I think it's the kind of book that you could read over and over and sometime get a "Ah-Ha" thought.

This book is not very interesting and very disappointing. After reading Ishmael, I was excited to read more by the author. Whoops, this book is not well written.

Daniel Quinn is my all time favorite author. My top three favorites he wrote are Ishmael, Tales of Adam, and Providence: The Story of a Fifty Year Vision Quest. Tales of Adam is a quick, enlightening and delightful read. It is well worth it. I highly recommend!

Tales of Adam