Sasu reviewed Instant Karma by David Michie (Lama Tashi)
Pleasantly Novelized Dharma Teaching
4 stars
Note: This is the first time I've read a novelized #Dharma teaching before, so the rating I've given it and the review below are likely to reflect my lack of experience with the genre.
I decided to listen to this book because I was hoping for something that would be easy to listen to and follow, yet would still inspire and motivate me similar to the way a good #Dharmatalk or #Dharmabook might. I'm happy to write that my wish was granted and then some. The story was engaging and I thought that the way the teachings on #karma were woven into the narrative was subtle enough to be believable while at the same time taking enough space front and center to be studied for themselves. That said, the book is not just a collection of teachings on #karma dressed up in a narrative to make them more palatable; indeed, …
Note: This is the first time I've read a novelized #Dharma teaching before, so the rating I've given it and the review below are likely to reflect my lack of experience with the genre.
I decided to listen to this book because I was hoping for something that would be easy to listen to and follow, yet would still inspire and motivate me similar to the way a good #Dharmatalk or #Dharmabook might. I'm happy to write that my wish was granted and then some. The story was engaging and I thought that the way the teachings on #karma were woven into the narrative was subtle enough to be believable while at the same time taking enough space front and center to be studied for themselves. That said, the book is not just a collection of teachings on #karma dressed up in a narrative to make them more palatable; indeed, the main engine of the story is an exploration of the workings of #karma. That it is presented as a story is perhaps even a major advantage because of the way the cause-and-effect relationship between various actions and their results could be explored via the use of numerous examples.
The inspiring and thought-provoking nature of the teachings in the novel are made even more effective by the refrain of "no need to believe, just try it out and see" which appears both in the mouths of characters in the story and is echoed by David Michie in his afterword. I see it as yet another strength that David Michie acknowledges that the way he has chosen to portray the workings of #karma if it were instant to be only one possible portrayal based on the theory from which he is working and which he presents in the book.
The major weakness of the book as I see it was that the word choice often seemed rather clunky, the writing generally not resembling high literature. That said, I did like the tongue-in-cheek quality of the writing and I think doing both would have been difficult at best. I also have suspicions that the book might not pass the #BechdelTest, but I didn't notice that until near the end, so I can't honestly say I'm sure one way or the other.
All in all, I got what I hoped for from the book, had a lot of fun listening to it, and left feeling inspired. I'm glad I gave it a chance and thought it was well worth the time.