Books That Change Us discussion

I can't be sure if I can say this book changed me for the worse, or the better. It depicts a man who finds out his child is not his, and his wife has been in an affair for years, and his revenge. A unique thing about this story is its written in the perspective as if we are being talked to in conversation.

The main character is a connived, rotten, disgusting man who brings shivers down my spine. The way he justifies his thoughts, the way he moves through society, he is, undoubtedly, insane. I was terrified reading through this book, as if I was watching a house burn. I could do nothing but stare.

When I finished the book, it felt as if something behind my eyes changed. I don't know exactly what, but I put the book down and it became lost with time. I read this well over 5 years ago, and when I am reminded it exists, if I even TRY picking it back up, my body shudders and I feel, fear?

I still don't know how I feel about this book. I may have a stronger reaction than most to this book because of personal context on how it got in my hands in the first place. Seeing the monster that is the main character in people you see in your daily life.

I don't know if I would recommend this book to anyone, maybe it should stay lost with time. But this is my answer to the question of "a book that has changed me."

Ves wrote: "I can't be sure if I can say this book changed me for the worse, or the better. It depicts a man who finds out his child is not his, and his wife has been in an affair for years, and his revenge. A..."

Wow, thanks for sharing Ves. A good book takes us to a new place that we cannot see but through the expression of another. Often these explorations end well but some of the most useful do not.

It sounds like this book helped you to explore the dark side of what can be our existence or what Carl Jung would call the shadow. It is important for us to examine this side of ourselves and incorporate it consciously so it does not grow unchecked in the back of our mind. Sometimes this is best done through a story and not an explanation.

It is easy to dismiss people as being evil but we often are unaware of the small building blocks that led them to the place they inhabit when they cross paths with us. And we therefore do not understand that the same could happen to us.

As Solzhenitsyn said, "The line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every man"

Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World by John O'Donohue

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