UA-49621821-1

February 06, 2010

Illusion - Adventures of a reluctant messiah - Richard Bach


  • I read this book first when I borrowed it from one of my close friends. I knew right then that this is a book for keeps. So I decided to pick up a copy for myself. It’s a very short book and truly inspiring. After a long time I’m writing a review for such a book. This is a short read and at the same time has a lot of magic. Magic that can make you think about the kind of stuff that most people don’t believe in. The kind of stuff that most people just imagine about.



  • Richard Bach, the barnstorming aviator, meets Don Shimoda, another barnstormer, and they strike up a friendship. Shimoda seems to be able to do things that are impossible and Bach discovers that Shimoda has stopped clinging to the bottom of the river, and Bach wants to join him. He discovers a Messiah Manual which has no page numbers. You simply flop it down and it opens to the right page for you at the moment. As a result Illusions is peppered throughout with quotes from the manual, a fact that makes this novel into a Messiah Manual of its own. Shimoda, if he were writing this, would caution you that the same is true for every book you open or that falls off a shelf in front of you, you are destined to read from that page or that entire book. There are no accidents, only intended events that we don't understand at the time that they occur. Here's an example: I was writing this and suddenly the bottom half of my computer monitor filled with horizontal stripes which extended up to the top, but stayed clear enough in the middle of the screen for me to close up my jobs. I'm back with a new 20" monitor to replace the broken 17" one. Looking at all the new space this bigger screen provides for me to get my work done, I'm beginning to understand why the old one gave up when it did, just at the right time.



  • This is the kind of book that you want to give out to someone especially when there’s an occasion that calls for inspiration. Occasions where one sees a different horizon and a dimension of life. Most admiring fact about this book is that you can relate to the things that he says and they are so simple that even a four year old will understand his philosophy. A philosophy well told in the form of the examples and the story in the book.



  • Here are a few quotes from the book.



  • You teach best what you most need to learn. Thus a Teacher, so also a Learner. I discovered long ago that in any situation the person assigned the role of teacher is learning as much or more than the learners. This is the one that I relate to very well. I learnt this long time but when I read the book I realized how true this was.



  • Here's a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. And if you're alive, then every statement you make about what is true for you in your life is a statement of limitation because your mission is not finished. Statements of limitation are simply expressions of the way your life has been, up until now.



  • All in all this book has so many profound thoughts that you will keep them in your closet and use them in life on many a occasions. So a must read especially if you are interested in spiritual as well as motivational book. Happy Reading!


Share

2 comments:

Poornima said...

That's a helpful review. Its interesting to read different views on the same book. I would recommend one for 'illusions' at http://abookandawindow.blogspot.com/2009/12/illusions-by-richard-bach.html

p.s.: the blog is ours but the review is not mine, so i hope this doesn't count as self-promotion ;-)

srinistuff said...

Great! Thanks! I just enjoyed reading that book... Loved the punch effect of it. What do you think?