The Celestine Prophecy
by James Redfield
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Book Summary Information
Author: James RedfieldEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-11-01
ISBN: 0446671002
Number of pages: 246
Publisher: Warner Books, Inc.
Book Reviews of The Celestine Prophecy
Book Review: Garbage
Summary: 1 Stars
After having finished reading The Celestine Prophecy, I hooked onto the internet and found all manner of activity on behalf of the book, then felt compelled to add a few words of my own.
People, beyond the author's uneven imagination, there are no Peruvian "Manuscripts" or "insights". This book is fiction, interspersed with some useful, unoriginal offerings on how to lead a better, healthier life: eat well, meditate, try to rise above childhood-inspired neuroses, treat other people (including children) as you would want to be treated, keep the forests green, aspire to a positive vision of the future--ancient suggestions folks, and good ones!
Unfortunately, for the author's standing within the writing community and for lovers of good writing, at least, it's amazingly mediocre fiction--in fact, it's probably about the poorest excuse for fiction I've ever encountered. Upon realizing, about half way through the "novel", that things just weren't, emotionally, spiritually or intellectually, "adding up", I persevered out of a combination of curiosity (would it become more credible, or would the writing improve, at least?), and disbelief (that it just gets worse and worse, and that such poor work could be so popular--a quick "surf" of the internet revealed some "true believers" actually flew off to "commune" on Peruvian pilgrimages, presumably thinking thousands of dollars and some allegedly enchanted forests will grant them what their back-yards, friends and other loved ones--or perhaps most valuably, some good soul-searching--are perfectly equipped to provide for free. Dorothy! Ooooh, Dorothy!).
Folks, wanna-be "New Age" gurus know who their target audience is: the depressed, disenchanted and dispossessed--people hungry for something, and many of us with a few extra dollars to spend on books, workbooks, "magic" crystals, even jaunts to Peru, etc. As had better know any would-be cult leader, and as thoroughly understands any successful one, many soul-thirsty persons are willing to forgive almost anything--let alone awful writing--to hear someone (anyone) say they're special--anointed, even. The Celestine Prophecy: a tidy, brief, little, large-lettered, official-looking, anybody-can-read-it assurance that the reader is truly, as s/he's sometimes dreamed, one of the Chosen--and CP's built-in, though generic, defense, of course, is that anyone who doesn't "believe" is simply not anointed, or doesn't "understand" yet, or one of another of those smug, pseudo-righteous, divisive types of allegations. Redfield has the audacity to suggest a limited number of "enlightened" (a "critical mass"--100,000, was it?) is required to then propel humanity into some instant higher consciousness in the next millennium--garbage elitism. Built into this concept is the proposal that if you buy into his overall thesis, you could very well be one of the propelling quantity, so jump on board, and don't forget to use the handy order form in the back of the book to sign up for the $29.95/year newsletter. The Chosen Few Bus can look pretty. Such a quick fix is most appealing when we're feeling at our lowest.
Brief, large-lettered, official-looking, easy-reading--yes. Tidy? Unfortunately, The Celestine Prophecy isn't nearly tidy--there's a huge and troublesome question of credibility underlying and undermining the entire package. As I've noted, no "Manuscript" or "insights" have been discovered in South America--borrowing apparently shamelessly, the guy made these goodies all up, then packaged them with a from-the-heavens-implying title and within a truly credible-looking manual-like cover. Because someone tells you something is a manual, or truth, does this make it so?? Insightful enough to gather that most compassionate beings root for the underdog, Redfield pits the Peruvian army and the Catholic Church, who fight to suppress this "Manuscript", against his faithful and determined, harried, little band of scientists and scholars "coincidentally" linked to one another to discover all of the "Manuscript's" nine "insights" and then reveal them, all against all odds, to the world. Of course, the "good guys" had to be scientists and scholars--an unoriginal, transparent attempt on an author's part to try and scam some legitimacy. And of course, several priests and soldiers impulsively defect to the scholars' camp (like we're supposed to do?). Less predictable, one "good guy" Peruvian confesses to knowing little English, then goes on to express himself quite fluently--perhaps the eighteenth or umpteenth "insight", revealed in the umpteenth, profit and/or ego-driven sequel, will wind up "revealing" the Instant English Pill. At another of countless, odd and typically bland junctures--though this one, in capable hands, may have provided an emotional peak for the book--a Peruvian "bad guy" soldier shoots and kills a confederate of our supposed hero, the never-named (as if he might be you, of course) main character, who's then spattered with that confederate's blood; then, with barely an "Oh, Gosh!", our intended "hero" retreats to a handy mountain top where he, minutes later, enjoys an extended, loving, transcendental experience. Huh?? Got over that bloody, mind-boggling mess in a jiffy, didn't he? And Redfield is a psychologist?? Pretty insightful for a guy pushing "insights"...
Let's abscond the trite, robotic narrative for a moment and visit what may well be considered the only truly original of Redfield's "insights". Meaning to have kept us somewhere approximating the edge of our seats, he, at about page 227, finally unleashes the big "ninth insight" we've been waiting for--the author's idyllic predictions for the next millennium. Here, and among other pseudo-profound "visions", we learn (drum-roll, please!) we'll work a tenth as much as in the 20th century, yet still make a decent living as we'll give each other cash in trade for passing on to one another the "answers we need". "Thanks for thinking of me.., here's your $13.50, adjusted for the lower inflation we are enjoying. I love you!" Huh??? And no tip, Mr./Ms./Mrs. Enlightened??? Ok, so let's get it straight--none of us are working much, and some of that limited income has to go for food, shelter and clothing, so we're just basically passing less and less money back and forth--something has to give, wouldn't you say?
I think this Redfield character really imagines his "insights" are worthy of death-defying dedication and dramatic defense--potentially exciting circumstances he's unable, unfortunately, to quite whip up. Am I getting through??? We're supposed to forgive the shoddy, implausible writing, yet buy the "insights"?? Or maybe he dreams his writing's as vital as he imagines are these "insights"? Science fiction???--the book might work if it were meant to work that way and written even remotely well; problem is, Redfield takes a shot at leaning on every possible angle--a work of fiction or science fiction, an historical document, a spiritual manual--and fails all over the place. Then there's the little problem of Redfield disavowing seemingly every website that springs up in honor of his "vision". Second's on thoughts, anyone? Then again, you're not asked to think--just feel. Anyone for Soylent Green?
In a weak, thin attempt, I think, to scam some credibility off of The Bible, Redfield quoted, "The truth shall set you free". How true, and appropriate.
Just like an apparantly growing number of people, I believe in the rightness of my choice that there's more to living than the material and self obsessions characterizing these times. I'm not "born again", or a right-wing, religious fanatic; nor do I have an agenda or anything to sell. I'm searching, too. I just think this isn't a credible alternative, and ask you to think about it. It may be the "answers you need" aren't waiting inside rocks or glowing plants or Peruvian jungles, but right there inside yourself where they've always been.
Why does The Celestine Prophecy bug me so? Because I think it preys on people--that's why. If it just sucked, I'd leave it alone. And I am anointed, as everyone is. Also, I don't mind speaking my mind--maybe too honestly for my own good sometimes--my short-term good, at least--though that possibility is also questionable.
I'd now like to offer my own Three Insights:
1) The story of The Celestine Prophecy's success is a landmark in self-publishing--it's possible to write largely unoriginal and otherwise preposterous, feel-good garbage, distribute it out of your own home, and wind up selling it to a major publisher for $800,000. Redfield proves anyone can do it.
2) The success of The Celestine Prophecy clearly demonstrates that a great number of people seek a spiritual fulfillment current organized religions aren't providing.
3) The fact you bothered to pick up CP likely indicates you're soul-searching; whether or not you take CP seriously, don't stop now.
Seek out your highest vision of yourself and try to live it. Treat your brothers and sisters well, consider eating things that are good for you, try meditating if you think it might help, be kind to animals and keep the forests green. Do anything you want to do, but then take a moment to see how the consequences of what you've done support that highest vision of yourself. You're a triad being of mind, body and spirit--most of us are well aware of our bodies; in search of your soul, don't forget to occasionally check in with your mind. Keep searching, feeling, thinking, reading: experiencing. In this moment of Eternal Now, I'm quite enamored with Conversations With God by Neale Walsch, a book I most highly recommend. And though a newsletter is available in support of this most profound work, scholarships are available for anyone who can't afford the price--imagine that--a promise of love backed by love.
My current, yet ever-changing, vision of myself includes exposing dark and grey in favor of light. CP isn't dark, but it also isn't light. I caution you to not be so enamored with the relatively new and evolving genre "New Age" that you can't discern the dark and grey from the light.
Love and well-wishes.
Summary of The Celestine Prophecy
You have never read a book like this before -- a book that comes along once in a lifetime to change lives forever.In the rain forests of Peru, an ancient manuscript has been discovered. Within its pages are 9 key insights into life itself -- insights each human being is predicted to grasp sequentially; one insight, then another, as we move toward a completely spiritual culture on Earth. Drawing on ancient wisdom, it tells you how to make connections among the events happening in your life right now and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimisim as you head into tomorrow.
Find out for yourself why virtually everyone you know has this book, described as an "adventure in pursuit of a spiritual mystery", on their coffee table. In the tradition of Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan.
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