My Ishmael
Winner of the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, Daniel Quinn's Ishmael is a bestseller and a testament for a burgeoning spiritual movement. Now Quinn presents an extraordinary sequel, a companion novel so startlingly original that even Ishmael's most faithful readers will not predict its outcome....When Ishmael places an advertisement for pupils with "an earnest desire to save the world," he does not expect a child to answer him. But twelve-year-old Julie Gerchak is undaunted by Ishmael's reluctance to teach someone so young, and convinces him to take her on as his next student. Ishmael knows he can't apply the same strategies with Julie that he used with his first pupil, Alan Lomax--nor can he hope for the same outcome. But young Julie proves that she is ready to forge her own spiritual path--and arrive at her own destination. And when the time comes to choose a pupil to carry out his greatest mission yet, Ishmael makes a daring decision--a choice that just might change the world.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
4mentions
4people
2011–2024years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Ishmael or My Ishmael touches on this subject. Thank you for reminding me.
I forget exactly, but, the basic idea is primitive people didn't have all these laws about what to do. They expected you to behave, and if you did not, the tribe did not necessarily punish you, they taught you and made it right somehow (justice).
Any MY description does not give this idea justice, so I need to go back and find the reference in the books.
- Some of my favorite obscure books are
-What Not by Rose MACAULAY (all caps just because I pasted it). It's a dystopian future book written during WW1. I've read that it's a inspiration for clockwork orange, 1984, and brave new world but much less well known. To be honest I find that it's the most relatable of all those dystopian books.
-The Story of B By Daniel Quinn (also My Ishmael and Ishmael but less well known then those). They represent a fundamentally different way of viewing the world we inhabit.
-The Foxes Of Harrow By Frank Yerby (Idk how well known it is though). This one is like those classic English lit books but focused on an enterprising Irish charlatan who goes down to New Orleans to build a life in the years leading up to the civil war.
- "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn (as well as "My Ishmael") changed how I view the world and how I characterize contemporary issues. The Takers/Leavers dichotomy, while a tad simplistic, was jaw-dropping at the time.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" had a similar effect, though with the Classicist/Romanticist split more than any other part of the book. Also: "Itty-bitty rules for itty-bitty people" made quite a few things make sense.
- Based on this comment I think you might enjoy the book series by Daniel Quinn that begins with the book Ishmael.
Here are some links to the books on amazon and audio books on youtube:
Ishmael: https://www.amazon.com/Ishmael-Adventure-Mind-Spirit/dp/B000...
The story of b: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553379011/ref=dbs_a_def_r...
My Ishmael: https://www.amazon.com/My-Ishmael-Book-3-ebook/dp/B002PXFYHY...
Ishmael audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0kuQuMYE0sYWcfK2e4_5...
The story of b audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GrRlBJ40Zo
