It seems there should have been some warning, but I felt none. Events were already in motion.Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan is not the sort of book I would ordinarily read. If you've belonged to a book club for any length of time, then you've probably found yourself reading the sort of book you'd never consider otherwise. Mutant Message Down Under is the first book selected by a long time member of my book club, so we all wanted to like it. Unfortunately, none of us did.
Originally published as memoir, now listed as fiction, Mutant Message Down Under is the story of an American woman who travels to Australia where she is taken by an aboriginal group on a months long walkabout. How she adapts to the conditions of the outback and what she learns from the Aboriginal group who call themselves The Real People are the subjects of the book and the subject of great controversy. So many people have attacked the book as both prejudiced and untrue that Ms. Morgan was forced to admit that it is fiction, though she has since begun to claim it's true once again. You can read all about this on Wikipedia here. It makes for interesting reading. (I think that this story would make a fascinating book.)
Much more interesting reading than the book itself in my view. I started it with an open mind, not knowing anything about the book's history. At first, the details of the walkabout are interesting, and while the message is very new-agey for my taste, it is not without value--take care of the earth, get back to nature, take care of each other. But the narrator soon discovers that The Real People do not speak to each other because they can read each other's minds. If the rest of us could get back to our natural state we would also be able to read minds. How this got past Oprah I don't know. (While not an official Oprah book, Mutant Message Down Under did enjoy her personal recommendation for a time.)
The book quickly went downhill from there. Had it been presented as fantasy or science fiction telepathy would certainly not have been an issue for me. While it is possible to read the book as a piece of Utopian fiction like Lost Horizons or Herland the quality of the writing is often so poor that this soon becomes difficult. But, mine is a minority viewpoint here. The book is still in print, has sold millions of copies, was almost made into a movie and still has a large following.
Go figure.
5 comments:
I remember this book's being attacked from many sides when Books Inc. featured it as one of the monthly selections as she wasn't honest about the nature of the things she has described in the book.
I would not have picked this one up as well so you're not alone. It's a bit off the tangent for me!
By the way, the conversation on the train that spans over 100 pages in The Birds Fall Down certainly has put the novel on slow wheels. I almost screamed at the endless exchange, but it's well worth the effort. I hope you'll pick it up again.
Matt, I looked at The Birds Fall Down just tonight and thought, I need to restart that one. I've been reading quite a lot of "lite" reading lately. I feel like I need to tackle a bigger tome soon.
It kind of seems popular here. One never knows!
I am kind of reading light too. After the dog book, I finished Eragon today.
To answer your question, the dog books are good reads for 12-13 years old. I am going give both these books to my nephew who will turn 12 in December. But for some reason, he is more into sports than reading!
*grin*
I had always wondered about this book, pondering whether or not I should read it - now I don't need to ponder any longer. Bruce Chatwin's Song Lines is a great way of looking at aboriginal Australia, although there has been some controversy over that book as well.
By the way, Sedaris didn't sing, but I will check out that recording just for Away in a Manger.
About Mutant Message Down Under...Go here http://www.dumbartung.org.au/
and click on "An Anthropologist's Perspective"
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