Book Review - Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Request

  

Another review of a book which I have already read.

Yet, I read it many years ago, and somehow did not get nearly as much out of it then as I did this time, with the more current reading. There have to be reasons for this, and maybe it would be worth exploring by going into greater detail.

Before I go any farther, however, let me give the usual warnings to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

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Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

So yeah, as already mentioned, I did not get nearly as much from my previous reading as I did this time around. My guess is because I then viewed it as how it was described: the background for how author Daniel Quinn came about his revolutionary theories. Also, he expands on some of these theories, and goes in-depth with some aspects which troubled him.

Indeed, it does delve into the background of his own life. Specifically, of how he came to need to know how the world came to be precisely as it turned out. To this end, there were two visions (not really dreams) which he describes. The first was as a little kid, when he saw a tree serving as a bridge into the wilderness, and had animals almost urging him to come over. The second was after he had been stuck inside a Trappist monastery for days, when he was sure that he wanted to be a Trappist monk. He had been looking forward to outdoor work, not having seen or felt the outdoors for so long, but then this was taken away from him. Then just as quickly, he was urged to go outside after all, and when he went outside, he saw the world blazing with the fire of life. His description is fascinating stuff. It faded after maybe an hour, but influenced him for the duration of his days, clearly influencing his life and work and words. 

His description of what being a monk is was rather fascinating. Far from the peaceful, secluded life of a recluse which most of us picture, he says that monks are actually more like soldiers. They are on the frontlines of a battle, of a war, actually. And the war is against evil, or what they perceive as evil. It is a life of strict discipline and sacrifice, in more ways than merely material.

Quinn also delves into some aspects of religion, specifically the Church. This is to be expected, since he already did exactly that in his first work, Ishmael. Also, he was to be a Trappist monk. That, he felt when younger, was his life's calling, until it wasn't.

What he says is that Jesus declared the Church would not be of rock, but rather of individuals. So whatever the structures, what really mattered was the passing of the Word through people, generation after generation. Again, something which i had never really thought about beforehand. A fascinating observation. 

Quinn struggled with acceptance all of his life. From his earliest school days to the attempt to join a Trappist monastery, it was all about being accepted. Then, after being rejected and sent home from the Trappist monastery, he tried to find a new direction. He married and worked, had kids. But still, there were problems, because he never did get the validation he was actually seeking.

Eventually, he met his wife, Rennie. Together, they found happiness. At one point, he mentions that they moved to New Mexico and worked with a couple of other people on the East Mountain News. They lived in virtual poverty, at least in comparison to their prior life in the city (Chicago). Yet, they were content. He goes into a bit of detail about how they were, in many senses, a tribe. They were not too big and relied on each other to make a living. This is part of his overall model of how humanity can save itself by being part of a tribe, of being reliant on a small group of people with a common cause.

There are other fascinating ideas, including Quinn imagining how education could be like, or another way it could work. He points out the absurd tendency of our modern society to see things like schools and infrastructure and crime continually failing, yet the answer repeatedly being to throw more money at it, despite a well-establish history of failing. So his version of education looks very different, by way of comparison. He likens it to a circus, in the tribal sense, as a circus is one of the few modern versions of tribalism well-known to our modern society. 

Of course, there is much more to this book. Again, though, I enjoyed it very much on this second reading, much more than the first time. In fact, I approached it with hesitation, but found myself quite taken by it once I actually did start to read it again. And I read it quite quickly, almost unable to put it down.

Highly recommended.