The Prophet

     

     Hello! It’s Emma Murawski here and I recently read a book called, The Prophet, written by Kahlil Gibran. It is quite a unique book and a short read.

Summary (short; no spoiling details):

     The main character, “the Prophet” from the title, is a very wise man who is traveling out of his hometown. For many years, people consulted with him when they had problems. Now that he is leaving for good, people feel the need to ask him all the questions they never had a chance to ask before. On his way out of the town, the villagers approach him with last-minute questions for advice about morals and life itself. He replies to each of them with a beautiful and complex moral teaching.

     The structure of The Prophet itself is intriguing because it is in the form of short chapters written poetically with specific meanings. Each chapter’s meaning is a new moral that is intended to be adopted by the reader. Each chapter portrays the main character along his journey with every new one entailing a brand-new villager asking him about a different aspect of life.

     In general, I thought The Prophet was a pretty good book. Overall, I would rate it a 9/10 because it had an interesting concept and structure. I also think that each chapter had its own very rewarding takeaway. My favorite chapter was the one on love. The villager asked the wise man about love. His response included the following insight on the highs and lows of love -

For even as love crowns you, so shall he crucify you. Even if he is for your growth, so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

     You will have to read the book to see what other fantastic perspectives he gave!

     The main character, the wise man, was my favorite character. He truly was a wise man and Kahlil Gibran truly portrays him as intellect and sage. Also, he was the only character focused on throughout the book. The point docked off is because the writing itself was a bit confusing due to its lyrical poetry-like style.

     Many people read The Prophet as a whole. They have read every chapter and every story through and through. Although the book is terrific collectively, many other people only go to The Prophet to read certain chapters for advice in their personal lives. For example, if they needed some advice on money, they could just flip through the pages right to the chapter about riches and wealth instead of reading the whole book. I think this is what people do more often with this book.

     I also think Kahlil Gibran did a great job writing the book itself. The format is especially nice if you are one of those people who just go to the book in the time you need advice because you can quickly flip to the chapter about it. However, Gibran’s style of writing is concise, lyrical, and riddle-like. Each chapter requires more than one read through to understand completely. Separate readings sometimes offer new wisdom. The version I had also included elegant artwork to compliment the text.

     Lastly, I would recommend this book to whoever needs advice about anything that is going on right now or whoever is just looking for an inspirational short read. This book could help you out as long as you find the right chapter when you go or return to it.