The Possibility Of Everything (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I bought this book for Kindle after hearing the author speak on a local public radio show. The show is kind of new-agey, so I should have known what to expect. In reality, there was another book featured on the show that I'd wanted to buy, but it wasn't available yet, so I settled for this one.I spent the first half of the book constantly aggravated by the author/narrator's myopia as she agonized over her three-year-old daughter's imaginary friend. She seemed like one of those overly-anxious, overly-perfectionistic mothers who both spoil their children and spoil their fun.By the time I was three-quarters of the way through, though, I'd come to be fond of this little family and of the narrator and admired her ability to change and grow. I enjoyed their adventures in Belize and their ability to appreciate those around them and even to confront people who challenged them with grace and honesty.In the end, though, I was shocked that the author never saw that the imaginary friend was probably a response to her own overweening parenting style. I found the author was often irritating to 'listen to'. Too many anthropological facts dotted through the book, I felt as though I was being lectured by an extremely boring and presumptuous teacher - if I wanted to know more about the Maya civilization, or Israel, or anything else she tried to show off about, I would simply go and find out for myself from a more authoritative source, surely not by someone writing about her toddler and her imaginary friend. From the blurb, I thought this book would be interesting and funny, but it turned out to be dragging on and on about the same things over and over again. I skipped entire paragraphs or skim-read them - never done it before, but I just couldn't stand to read these mini-essays on astronomy, anthropology, politics, history... Well, I wasn't a big fan of this book/author, as you may have gathered by now.
What do You think about The Possibility Of Everything (2009)?
Poignant, with some remarkable insights into the nature of faith, but somehow unfinished.
—Iormungand
Couldn't make it past page 7, and even that was hard.
—angie
Very interesting book. I enjoyed her writing style.
—Nigravity
Interesting nonfiction. A bit of spirituality.
—Laura
Worst book I've read in years. 'Nuff said.
—annetteconway
