Customer Reviews

I Was Carlos Castaneda: The Afterlife Dialogues

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I was very excited to see this book, and bought it immediately.

I started reading Castanedas books back in the mid 70's, and I have read every book that he has written multiple times over. They always bring back to me the realization of the magical in Life.

As I was reading this book, it reminded me of watching a bad movie. The kind where you keep thinking that it's got to get better soon, but it never does, and when it's over you finally realize that you've completely wasted your time. If you have not read Castaneda, and are not expecting to find him here, you may enjoy this book more than I, but of course I can't say.

I don't find Castaneda in this book - neither in person, nor in writing style. I personally found it to be particularly badly written compared to Castaneda's writing, and hard to follow at times. Castaneda's actions in the book also do not ring true to me. It's kind of like his character is a mix between a weak Don Juan and a selfish Castaneda, and a Rodney Dangerfield who doesn't *deserve* any respect.

Of course, I can't really say whether Martin Goodman actually experienced the presence of Castaneda (or maybe his inept double). All that I can say is that it didn't feel like it to me. I came away wondering whether Martin just made the whole thing up just to make money. After all, he admits in the book that when he was given a wish, he unashamedly chooses money. All that I can say is that it would surprise me more if it were actually true than if it were not.

I am surprised at the grudges some readers here hold ... maybe envy? I knew Carlos Castaneda from two weekends of his teachings and from studying all his books and am very pleased to have this addition. It speaks to my life, and my dreams, in the way he has always done. More than ever perhaps. The teachings continue. Why does everybody have to deny everything Castaneda has ever done? Please do not deny yourselves a chance to read the lessons he has brought back to us from the other side of death.

From the standpoint of marketing genius in the title and cover design (overall concepting the book) this work is admirable.

From the standpoint of revelling in the glory of an icon's memory to propel a mediocre writer's career, the work is disappointing.

I'm of the opinion that negative reviews should only be reserved for the most extreme cases, works like this - that leave such a bad taste in the mouth.

If I had written a book entitled, " I was Timothy Leary: The Afterlife Dialogues by Brian Wallace, Timothy Leary " I'd have trouble sleeping at night.

Castaneda had many personalities, and I'm convinced that Martin Goodman's was not one of the them.

Sorry.

Brian Wallace/author/Labyrinth of Chaos

I think so, but it's hard to tell. I don't question the possibility of a person communicating after death. I recently lost a good friend, and am gifted with his remaining presence in wonderful magical ways. Goodman may well have had similar experiences with Castaneda, or he may not have. After several months of trying to cull anything meaningful from this book, I get no feeling of connection with don Carlos or the wonder that he shared with us. It may be that Goodman is just another new age hack, but I don't think so. More likely, the problem is Goodman's laborious and contrived writing.

Goodman's writing is so unfocussed that at times it reads like a badly translated instruction manual for a Korean VCR. "I look to the thin channel of water running as the center of the path to pass by my side, understanding now that the light is no reflection, and I see that the quality of the stream has changed."

At other times he tries to put so many ideas into a single sentence that it interrupts any rhythm Goodman may have discovered. "Until recently two dogs, one with the looks and injured ferocity of a jackal, would bark and snarl greetings at this juncture of the walk while the washing of a single woman's vast brood, the eldest a soldier back from the Balkans and the youngest tiny golden-tressed twins, spanned the garden on a long clothesline."

It would have been nice if Goodman's editor (and high school composition teacher) had done his or her job. But as it is this book is wasted time and money. Instead, buy Victor Sanchez's book "The Teachings of don Carlos." There is more depth and lucidity in his introduction than in Goodman'e entire book.

A truly superb book. One that has the energy and power of one of the greats.

I come at this from a funny angle. I sense that on the left wing environmentalist front it is seeking to preach largely to the converted and give them teachings to assist in their own development.

I am far from left leaning and do not have the same spiritual take on things as Martin but felt very able to connect with the power of the experiences recounted in this book.

I also have the pleasure of having visited this area of France. The description is accurate and really sends the mind shooting back to my time there.

I think that anyone who can accept this book on its own terms and accept the journey recounted regardless of any cynicism they may hold as to its reality will enjoy the book.

Attacking the book as a marketing ploy is very crude and unhealthy. Its not Castaneda, its not a biography. It does not attempt to sell as such and has something of its own to offer the world.

Matthew

I keep a few books above my bed ... don't loan them, don't give them away, just have them there to dip into now and again. Castaneda's TALES OF POWER is one ... I've read all his books, some a few times. I've tried others in the Toltec school too ... some OK but none grabbed me. I WAS CARLOS CASTANEDA really did. It's like Castaneda for the 21st century, not some tired rehash of what he's already done. This Goodman's a great writer (better than Castaneda in my mind but then he had Castaneda as an example and teacher) ... yes Castaneda is different, but then I wouldn't trust him if her weren't for then the whole journey through the afterlife and back would have been for nothing. Real lessons here. Real counsel too. The book's a celebration of life here on this planet. I found I even dropped my fear of Central Park and have really gotten to appreciate the place as some rare slice of nature in the wake of this book. Definitely for my KEEPS shelf!

Anyone familiar with the literary qualities of Carlos Castaneda's works will see immediately that this book's author could not possibly be quoting or paraphrasing Castaneda. Anyone familiar with the philosophic qualities of those works will see that this book's author could not possibly have met with, and understood, Castaneda--before or after Castaneda's death. Whether you are looking for insight or literature, you will not find it here. This book is all sham. There is nothing of a shaman in it.

If you are looking for Carlos, don't look here. Carlos Castaneda does not lead the author on a mystical journey, he doesn't lead him anywhere. He is not alive, has never been alive. The Carlos in this book is merely a literary device used to get the author from one mediocre story to the next. This is a cheap way to sell books.

The stories are only mildly interesting and Goodman draws hackneyed, tired, Christian conclusions from them. Goodman admits he didn't get to interview Carlos and has limited experience with Castaneda's works. This work would have, at least, sounded more authentic if he had read or met the man. When I finished reading it, I felt cheated.

There are a number of books in this genre... authors James Redfield, Hank Wessleman, Taisha Abelar, Alberto Villoldo and Florinda Donner all spring immediately to mind. If you have read and enjoyed any of them you "may" enjoy this also. It is mining that same vein. --- HOWEVER, the author Martin Goodman has used a rather cheap gimmick to pull this book together - and that is his USE of the good reputation of Carlos Castañeda as a lure, a literary device and a central character.

BUT the Carlos Castañeda he conjures up is NOT the Carlos so many of us knew - whether personally or through his wonderful books - when he was still walking among us. Perhaps if Goodman had actually known Castañeda he might have created a more convincing character. But it is quite obvious that the did not, and so, sadly, the Carlos he does create in this tale is a disappointment. Anyone hoping to catch a glimpse, however fleetingly ephemeral, of the departed Castañeda will come away feeling cheated.

If one tries to overlook this obvious flaw in the tale's construction, there ARE a few nuggets to be found among its pages.
It could make a decent distraction for a cross-country flight. Get it at the discounted price. Carlos has left the building!

...This book is so beautifully written it conjured other worlds for me ... I came out of it feeling cleansed somehow of lots that is false in my life. Hard to say quite how ... I'm going to take the journey again ... it's taken me back years, set me dreaming of when I was six and had so many hopes for life. I'm not sure about shamanism ... never trod that path ... but this is a fairly balanced if wild view of it and it has given me lots to ponder about other religions ... I was brought up a Christian Scientist so you can see I've got lots to think through! This book deals with death to my way of looking at it by showing how precious a thing life is, what a glancingly brief period we have on this jewel of a planet. Maybe what really changed me most was the evidence this book gives of the degree to which I am a part of nature ... I had to read the part about the gifts of giant beetles and bees in the jungle a couple of times to really take the lesson to heart. I don't know the Castaneda of the other books ... didn't even know the name before reading the introduction to this one ... but the Castaneda I met here is a fabulous, dear, wise creation wherever he came from. if he's any good this book serves a purpose by introducing me to him ... I'll try him out. And I'll buy and read anything Martin Goodman writes ... he was new to me too, but as a writer myself I really appreciate the lessons in writing this book contains. You'll gather I'm really thankful for this book (this is my first review but I felt I had to do it)- I read books to be changed, and this book cheers me on to keep on living and writing and trying.