Castle of Wisdom (Paperback)

by Rhett Ellis (Author) "I sat beside a stream and contemplated a blade of grass..." (more)
Key Phrases: dog boy, field master, Castle of Wisdom, Captain Est, Master Lenck (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Elias, a curious young man, sets out to find the "Castle of Wisdom," a mysterious old ruin where he believes he will learn The Master Truth: the meaning of life, the secret of existence, the reason for it all. Along the course of his eighteen year journey he experiences everything from romance, joy, and wealth to misery, pain, and poverty. Readers of "Castle of Wisdom" make one comment more than any other: "Once I started, I couldn't put it down!"

From the Publisher
The international success of this simple story is truly astonishing. "Castle of Wisdom" began as a small project for a local writer, but it is now being translated and published throughout the world! Hundreds and thousands of readers have found hope and meaning for their lives in this unique book by Rhett Ellis.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 142 pages
• Publisher: Sparkling Bay Books (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967063108
• ISBN-13: 978-0967063102
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #754,226 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clash of the Civilizations, June 8, 2003

By	C. Circle "cmcircle" (Northern VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are a conservative Christian you will like this book. It affirms everything you already believe.
If you are a thoughtful, educated reader, used to complex writing and who has already done much soul searching and theological and philosophical reading unconstrained by cultural boundaries this book will disappoint you and even anger you.
I found the plot and the thinking of the characters very simplistic. While the allegory and symbolism may be rich for some, I found it shallow and simplistic.
In some ways, this book could be revolutionary for some, if their exposure is very narrow, but for a sophisticated reader, your time can be better spent elsewhere.
I found the stereotyping of homosexual behavior and thereby condemnation of it very disturbing. This author obviously has little actual experience interacting with actual gays and lesbians and unfortunately believes the damanging idea that "if you just change the way you think poor gay person, and stop doing 'bad' things, you will be fine." This is paternalistic and ignorant.
I also found the idea that either all prostitutes are daughters of poor, single-parent, mother-headed households, or that all daughters of poor, mother-headed, single-parent households may end up prostitutes equally disturbing. It ignores a large number of complexities about both about how prostitutes come to what they do and about how young women are socialized to perceive themselves and their relationships with men. Not to mention the idea that a simple infusion of wealth will alleviate all of this.
I found the religious discussions between the protagonist (Elias) and the religious scholar (Loo) far too simplistic. For the head of theology at a university, the simplicity of consideration of both the complexities of science and of the occurrence of evil in society are disappointingly weak.
Overall the book seems to address many of the complex, gripping issues of society (slavery, killing, wealth redistribution, etc.) in simple, naive, black-and-white terms, while ignoring the complexity of real people's struggles and lives. While there is an appeal and desire in all of us for life to be simple and clear, rarely is that so. It is more wishful thinking than reality.
With all of this said, there are some good messages about what is of true importance in life and where the true source of happiness is to be found. The themes of similarties across religions and across races are valuable. It is a shame that these ideas were not the ones that were expanded more fully. And, also a shame that these were tempered by the idea that one form of religion was more evolved and therefore superior to the others. Apparently, religious thinking can evolve, but animals can't! This book symbolizes the dilemna that many thoughtful Christian readers experience today in searching for insightful, challenging, spiritual literature that is free of dogmatic provencial moralism.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Intense, Powerful, Profound., April 28, 2001

By	Carissa (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I like writing that is direct so Castle of Wisdom was a refreshing book for me. The main character is an intense person-- he loves intensely; he struggles intensely; he searches intensely. I guess I could relate because I'm pretty intense about the things I really care about too. The book held my attention extremely well because the story line is powerful. The experience I had after reading the next to the last chapter was profound and life-changing. I feel like I know a little more about the true meaning of life now. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

The story is about a man called Elias. He's heard a legend about a stranger that passed through his village telling a story about a castle called The Castle of Wisdom. Elias decides to go find the Castle of Wisdom for himself, and oh what a journey he has!! He learns a lot of wisdom in the process, but he find the crown of all wisdom in the Castle-- the true meaning of life, that is. Not everyone will agree with the conclusions of "Castle of Wisdom", but I think that everyone will enjoy the story itself. The key is being able to see the symbolism. If you can see the symbols, you will stand in awe of the story.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling Read. Deep Meaning., August 23, 2001

By	Maggie (California) - See all my reviews

Elias journeys forth from his native village to search for the meaning of life, which may be found at "The Castle of Wisdom." He is an innocent young man at the beginning of his adventure, naive to the ways of the world... but he learns the hard truths the hard way. He journeys for eighteen years and meets with romance, heart-break, mystery, danger, pain, defeat, grief and... well, that's as much as I can tell you for now.

"Castle of Wisdom" stands apart from other books. It is a work of genius written with a simple vocabulary. It is profound, but it is also easy to read. It is the kind of book that once you pick it up, you can not put it down until you have reached the end of it.