My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (English) Paperback Book

Description: My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn 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. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description 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. Author Biography Daniel Quinn is the author of "Ishmael, Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest," and "The Story of B" and co-author (with Tom Whalen) of "A Newcomers Guide to the Afterlife." Review "Enthralling, shocking, hope-filled, and utterly fearless, Quinn leads us deeper and deeper into the human heart, history, and spirit. Thank God the gorilla is back! In My Ishmael, Quinn strikes out into entirely new territory, posing questions that will rock you on your heels, and providing tantalizing possibilities for a truly new world vision."--Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers & Healers "Irresistible...[Quinns] ideas are as thought-provoking as ever."--Kirkus Reviews Review Quote "Enthralling, shocking, hope-filled, and utterly fearless, Quinn leads us deeper and deeper into the human heart, history, and spirit. Excerpt from Book There was a second chair in place when I arrived on Friday, and I didnt like it one bit--not the chair itself, of course, but rather the very idea of sharing my Ishmael with anyone, selfish minx that I am. But at least it was not as nice as the friendly old broken-down one I was used to. I pretended it wasnt there, and we got started. "Among her friends in college," Ishmael began, "my benefactor, Rachel Sokolow, counted a young man named Jeffrey, whose father was an affluent surgeon. Jeffrey became an important person in many lives at this time and later, because he presented people with a problem. He couldnt figure out what to do with himself. He was physically attractive, intelligent, personable, and talented at almost anything he turned his hand to. He could play the guitar well, though he had no interest in a musical career. He could take a good photograph, produce a good sketch, play the lead in a school play, and write an entertaining story or a provocative essay, but he didnt want to be a photographer, an artist, an actor, or a writer. He did well in all his classes but didnt want to be a teacher or a scholar and wasnt interested in following his fathers footsteps or in pursuing a career in law, the sciences, mathematics, business, or politics. He was drawn to things of the spirit and was an occasional churchgoer but didnt care to become a theologian or a clergyman. In spite of all this, he seemed "well-adjusted, as its called. He wasnt notably phobic or depressive or neurotic. He wasnt doubtful or confused about his sexual orientation. He figured hed settle down and marry one day, but not until hed found some purpose in life. "Jeffreys friends never tired of finding new ideas to present to him in hopes of awakening his interest. Wouldnt he enjoy reviewing films for the local newspaper? Had he ever thought of taking up scrimshaw or jewelry making? Cabinetry was put forward as a soul-satisfying occupation. How about fossil hunting? Gourmet cooking? Maybe he should get into Scouting. Or wouldnt it be fun to go on an archaeological dig? Jeffreys father was completely sympathetic with his inability to discover an enthusiasm and ready to support him in whatever exploration he might find worthwhile. If a world tour had any appeal, a travel agent would be put to work on it. If he wanted to try the life of an outdoorsman, equipment would be supplied, gladly. If he wanted to take to the sea, a boat would be made ready. If he wanted to try his hand at pottery, hed have a kiln waiting for him. Even if he just wanted to be a social butterfly, that would be fine. He shrugged it all off, politely, embarrassed to be putting everyone to so much trouble. "I dont want to give you the impression he was lazy or spoiled. He was always at the top of his class, always held a part-time job, lived in ordinary student housing, didnt own a car. He just looked at the world that was on offer to him and couldnt see a single thing in it worth having. His friends kept saying to him, "Look, you cant go on this way. Youve got too much going for you. Youve just got to get some ambition, got to find something you want to do with your life! "Jeffrey graduated with honors but without a direction. After hanging around his fathers house for the summer, he went to visit some college friends who had just gotten married. He took along his knapsack, his guitar, his journal. After a few weeks he set out to visit some other friends, hitchhiking. He was in no hurry. He stopped along the way, helped some people who were building a barn, earned enough money to keep going, and eventually reached his next destination. Soon it was getting on for winter and he headed home. He and his father had long conversations, played gin rummy, played pool, played tennis, watched football, drank beer, read books, went to movies. "When spring came, Jeffrey bought a secondhand car and set out to visit friends in the other direction. People took him in wherever he went. They liked him and felt sorry for him, he was so rootless, so ineffectual, so unfocused. But they didnt give up on him. One person wanted to buy him a video camera so he could make a film of his wanderings. Jeffrey wasnt interested. Another person volunteered to send his poetry around to magazines to see if anyone would publish it. Jeffrey said that was fine, but personally, he didnt care one way or the other. After working at a boys camp for the summer, he was asked to stay on as a permanent member of the staff, but it didnt appeal to him that much. "When winter came, his father talked him into seeing a psychotherapist he knew and trusted. Jeffrey stuck with it throughout the winter, going three times a week, but in the end the therapist had to admit that, apart from being "a little immature, there was nothing whatever wrong with him. Asked what "a little immature meant, the therapist said Jeffrey was unmotivated, unfocused, and lacked goals--everything they already knew. "Hell find something in a year or two, the therapist predicted. "And itll probably be something very obvious. Im sure its staring him in the face right now, and he just doesnt see it. When spring came, Jeffrey went back out on the road, and if something was staring him in the face, he went on being unable to see it. "The years drifted by in this way. Jeffrey watched old friends get married, raise children, build careers, build businesses, win a little fame here, a little fortune there . . . while he went on playing his guitar, writing a poem now and then, and filling one journal after another. Just last spring he celebrated his thirty-first birthday with friends at a vacation cottage on a lake in Wisconsin. In the morning he walked down to the water, wrote a few lines in his journal, then waded into the lake and drowned himself." "Sad," I said after a moment, unable to think of anything more brilliant. "Its a commonplace story, Julie, except for one fact--the fact that Jeffreys father made it possible for him to drift, actually supported him while he did nothing for nearly ten years--put no pressure on him to shape up and become a responsible adult. Thats what made Jeffrey different from millions of other young people in your culture who in fact have no more motivation than he did. Or do you think Im mistaken in this?" "I dont understand you well enough to say whether youre mistaken." "Thinking of the young people you know, do you find them burning to be out there becoming lawyers and bankers and engineers and cooks and hairstylists and insurance agents and bus drivers?" "Some of them, yeah. Not especially to be the things you mentioned, hairstylists and bus drivers, but some things. I know kids who wouldnt mind being movie stars and professional athletes, for example." "And what are their chances of becoming these things, realistically speaking?" "Millions to one, I suppose." "Do you think there are eighteen-year-olds out there dreaming of becoming cabdrivers or dental technicians or asphalt spreaders?" "No." "Do you think there are a lot of eighteen-year-olds out there who are like Jeffrey, who are not really attracted to anything in the Taker world of work? Who would be glad to skip it entirely if someone gave them an annual stipend of twenty or thirty thousand dollars?" "God yes, if you put it like that, Im sure there are. Are you kidding? Millions of them." "But if there isnt anything they really want to do in the Taker world of work, why do they enter it at all? Why do they take jobs that are clearly not meaningful to them or to anyone else?" "They take them because they have to. Their parents throw them out of the house. They either get jobs or starve." "Thats right. But of course in every graduating class there are a few who would just as soon starve. People used to call them tramps or bums or hobos. Nowadays they often characterize themselves as "homeless, suggesting that they live on the street because theyre forced to, not because they prefer to. Theyre runaways, beachcombers, ad hoc hookers and hustlers, muggers, bag ladies, and Dumpster divers. They scrounge a living one way or another. The food may be under lock and key, but theyve found all the cracks in the strongroom wall. They roll drunks and collect aluminum cans. They panhandle, haunt restaurant garbage cans, and practice petty thievery. It isnt an easy life, but theyd rather live this way than get a meaningless job and live like the mass of urban poor. This is actually a very large subculture, Julie." "Yeah, I recognize it now that you put it this way. I actually know kids who talk about wanting to go live on the street. They talk about going to specific cities where there are already a lot of kids doin Details ISBN0553379658 Author Daniel Quinn Short Title MY ISHMAEL Pages 304 Publisher Bantam Books Language English ISBN-10 0553379658 ISBN-13 9780553379655 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY FIC Year 1998 Publication Date 1998-10-31 Imprint Bantam USA Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States DOI 10.1604/9780553379655 Audience General/Trade Series Ishmael Series Number 3 UK Release Date 1998-10-06 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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