Book Review: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Gnomic and quotable, The Prophet will guide you to question your assumptions about life and especially about community.  Good poetry does not set one straight with simple corrections to the reader’s understanding but rather draws one into a different picture of the world.  The Prophet accomplishes this with excellence.  

While reading this short book I often questioned my own understanding about corporate responsibility, silence, love, and even faith.  At times I found myself disagreeing with the truth statements of the poet but wishing I were able to agree fully.  Such was the charm of the writing.

Gibran’s most celebrated work is wonderfully modest and keen.  The subject of the writing, Almustafa, is a temping allusion to Christ for those who are accustomed to hearing Jesus in every hero’s voice.  However, Almustafa more closely resembles the voice of the post-Christian era’s pluralism, embodying humanism, hints of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Greek philosophy, Hinduism and New Age thinking.  

I ask that you read this book not because I agree with the author’s universalist approach to spirituality, but because I admire his ability to relay a fine story, his ear for open-line poetry, and his desire to explore the human spirit.  Perhaps, like me, you will find yourself agreeing with much he says and wishing you could agree with more still.

~ by Joshua Long on January 5, 2009.