Word on the street
VICTORIA (CUP) — It's fair to say that Eckhart Tolle has very little street cred left. Being in cahoots with Oprah Winfrey to such an extent has the damaging social stigma of being unhip and out of touch attached to it. It's a shame because Tolle's spiritual primers, A New Earth and The Power of Now are enlightening and easy to read — two other factors that can crunch credibility.
So, to his many critics it may seem that Tolle has something to prove. Thankfully, Tolle is impervious to such inanity, and the needless noise it musters falls to the wayside with this new book, Guardians of Being.
Tolle's latest transcendental text is a careful collaboration with expert comic strip illustrator Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), and is, of course, a picture book.
Tolle and McDonnell make for handsome bedfellows in this pleasing pairing. Their book is a thoughtful meditation on metaphysical meaning as well as being a love letter to our best friends — our pets.
Both McDonnell and Tolle are fond of animals, as is evidenced in their distinctive bodies of work; this matchup seems meant to be. One of my favourite quotes of Tolle's gets recast in this book with added joy, thanks to McDonnell's deceptively simple-looking drawings. “I have lived with many Zen masters,” writes Tolle, “all of them cats.” Any cat owner can attest to the profound truth of this statement.
In a way that was probably never intended by either Tolle or McDonnell, Guardians of Being makes an excellent companion book to William Burroughs' and Brion Gysin's illustrated novella from 1986, The Cat Inside. Both are poignant ruminations of the feline footing with pretty pictures to prove it.
Guardians of Being is a valentine to the animals who share our emotional and physical lives; it's sentimental, sidesplitting and sweet in equal measure. That it's a rapid read works to its advantage since it provokes a lot of reflection thanks to Tolle's typically sparse writing.
Those wanting more measure from Tolle might feel a tad foiled. But his spare style leaves plenty of room for McDonnell to play and delight in his drawings, and this is key to the book's exemplary execution.
For the animal lover and comic-strip fan there's a lot to admire and applaud here. For the casual reader this is a small marvel bestowed by two top-drawer talents. Its passion, pathos and slant can elicit tender tears from even the meanest of muckrakers.
So, to his many critics it may seem that Tolle has something to prove. Thankfully, Tolle is impervious to such inanity, and the needless noise it musters falls to the wayside with this new book, Guardians of Being.
Tolle's latest transcendental text is a careful collaboration with expert comic strip illustrator Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), and is, of course, a picture book.
Tolle and McDonnell make for handsome bedfellows in this pleasing pairing. Their book is a thoughtful meditation on metaphysical meaning as well as being a love letter to our best friends — our pets.
Both McDonnell and Tolle are fond of animals, as is evidenced in their distinctive bodies of work; this matchup seems meant to be. One of my favourite quotes of Tolle's gets recast in this book with added joy, thanks to McDonnell's deceptively simple-looking drawings. “I have lived with many Zen masters,” writes Tolle, “all of them cats.” Any cat owner can attest to the profound truth of this statement.
In a way that was probably never intended by either Tolle or McDonnell, Guardians of Being makes an excellent companion book to William Burroughs' and Brion Gysin's illustrated novella from 1986, The Cat Inside. Both are poignant ruminations of the feline footing with pretty pictures to prove it.
Guardians of Being is a valentine to the animals who share our emotional and physical lives; it's sentimental, sidesplitting and sweet in equal measure. That it's a rapid read works to its advantage since it provokes a lot of reflection thanks to Tolle's typically sparse writing.
Those wanting more measure from Tolle might feel a tad foiled. But his spare style leaves plenty of room for McDonnell to play and delight in his drawings, and this is key to the book's exemplary execution.
For the animal lover and comic-strip fan there's a lot to admire and applaud here. For the casual reader this is a small marvel bestowed by two top-drawer talents. Its passion, pathos and slant can elicit tender tears from even the meanest of muckrakers.
