Customer Reviews

Twelve and One-Half Keys to the Gates of Paradise

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

 

 

The only reason I give this book a "10" is that the scale doesn't go any higher. Ed Hays is a wonderful spiritual writer: he deals with ancient truths in new and refreshing ways, such that they are accessible to anyone who can read them. You don't need a doctorate in theology to understand and enjoy Hays' books, just the time to read them and think them over.

The last of the short stories in this book, "The Tin Box," is well worth the price of the whole book all by itself.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in deepening his or her spiritual life, and especially for anyone with the time for quiet reflection (you'll need it, once you've read a few of the stories).

A word to the wise, though: A little Hays goes a long way! This is a book to be savoured, a page at a time, not gobbled whole and put back on the shelf.

Give it a try--I can promise you won't regret it!

This book fits perfectly with The Ethiopian Tattoo Shop, which I would reccomend reading first. As Hays puts it, his stories are "illuminating" rather than enlightening. Each story is beautifully written and readers can take away what they need from it. In order to understand the meaning behind each story, the reader doesn't need to be incredibly intelligent or well educated, but mature. While it is considered Christian literature, people of all religions can relate to the messages portrayed in these stories.

I am very sad! I paid $45 for a new book ($10 book), and received a used copy. I sent an e-mail to address listed and received an e-mail back stating basically that my e-mail would take forever to be answered, to respond to the web page. I had tried to respond to the web page four or five time but it was down. I now have replied to the web page - we'll see if I get a response.

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who had lost his book. I understand it is out of print and makes the value of existing "new" books inflated...I bit the bullet on that - but don't insult me by sending me a used book.

It will be interesting to see if I get a response to something. A company can send addition material, but not answer e-mails!

THE BOOK IS A WONDERFUL BOOK!

Thank you for listening.
Rhonda Lomonaco

This book is a collection of some of the most wonderful, moving, and inspiring stories I have ever read, reflected and shared with others. If you are looking for a challenge to your spirituality, take a chance and buy this book. I think you will enjoy it and its contents.

Do you know Edward Hays' writing already? If so, you really don't need a review.

If not, this is an enchanting book of parables that is hard to put down. Hays' work is filled with metaphor and wonder! However, Hays cautions to read only one story at a time. I suggest savoring and rereading, because there is often more to be found in these parables. Hays' images flesh out concepts we yearn to understand.

If you're looking to add another dimension to your theological journey, this one's a sure bet! Unqualified recommendation.

... because I thought this book was terrible. If you like an author to get to the point, or even to tell you what he's thinking (even if it takes half the book to get to that point), you'll be disappointed, because the stories in this book get odder and odder. Calling them abstract would be an understatement, and one will feel as if they're lying down on a couch speaking to a psychiatrist. Hays tries to get you to come to conclusions by asking yourself questions and seeking the answers within you. Which might not be such a bad idea, if you knew what the heck the stories in this book were half-way about. I was not impressed. The stories were way off the wall, and I just didn't have the patience to sit there and tease out whatever glimmer of personal reflection these stories might represent for me.

To be truthful, I bought the book because John J. Pilch was affiliated with it. I tried and tried to find out how he was responsible for this book, but there isn't even a foreword by him, and I couldn't see if he wrote any of the stories or not. Pilch is a Christian, and so I was hoping that this book would be Christian in nature... it isn't as far as I can tell. But then again, I couldn't tell much from this book anyways.