A thoughtful if imperfect primer on Rilke for the self-improvement minded.
Burrows and Dowrick tease out the timeless wisdom of a beloved poet in this nonfiction work.
For over a century, the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke—the Austrian poet who died in 1926—have encouraged readers to embrace life’s contradictions. “He himself saw language as a tool of inquiry,” write the authors in their introduction, “sent out like a ‘probe’ to the limits of human imagination and experience as ‘bees of the invisible,’ as he once famously put it. This adds up to a quite new way not just of seeing life, but of more fully embracing and valuing it.” With this book, Burrows and Dowrick use Rilke’s writings to explore topics like beginnings, questions, and mistakes. The chapters, which can be read in any order (the authors alternate writing duties), operate as self-contained essays, each inspired by a particular quote from one of Rilke’s poems or letters. The chapter titled “Where Do I Belong,” for example, begins with Rilke’s haunting poem “Entrance,” which Dowrick uses as a launching pad to consider the tensions of conformity and belonging. (Her close reading of the poem draws in ideas from Rumi and John O’Donovan as well as her husband’s work as a pediatrician among the First Nations of Australia’s Northern Territory.) Burrows and Dowrick are correct in their assertion that Rilke’s words have a surprisingly contemporary resonance. Though they sometimes consider Rilke’s words within the context of his own life and time, more often they look outward, which can occasionally lead to broad or slightly cliche insights like, “Finding a way to be curious, to be open to the unknown, to be ready to be surprised is not the goal of life’s journey. It is that journey itself.” Worse, they occasionally get caught in loops of abstracted self-help speak: “Such self-honoring may become a chance to discover the fertile wisdom already waiting in your own life, plus how to live into its depths.” More a book for readers of motivational nonfiction than for fans of literature, this work will undoubtedly bring new audiences to the great poet.
A thoughtful if imperfect primer on Rilke for the self-improvement minded.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781958972533
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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