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This article is
provided by kind permission of Gift of Gabe Promotions. This article MAY NOT BE
REPRODUCED without the permission of Gift of Gabe Promotions.
The Lennon Code?
Few people have heard of the novel, The Gift of Gabe. A year ago even
fewer people had heard of it. In these days of big budget mass marketing
books that are published by small publishers often have difficulty finding
an audience. Without an advertising budget, word of this book has been
spreading. Early readers fascinated by the book's inclusive spirituality,
told others. An internet forum for people who study Gnosticism picked up
on the book last summer making it their topic of discussion for two
months.
Some Beatles fans became interested after the reviewer for the
online music magazine, Ear Candy recommended it saying, "I was also
fascinated by the interpretations of Beatles lyrics in the book,
especially after having read about every book imaginable on Beatles song
analysis." Shortly after the review in Ear Candy information about the
book showed up on What Goes On, a website dedicated to Beatles news.
Canadian readers with an interest in the paranormal picked up on the book
after the author was interviewed on The X Zone Radio Show. There has been
buzz about the book by Beatles fans in places as far apart as Israel, The
Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, and Russia, places far removed from the
book's northern New England setting.
The book is the story of meeting an
eccentric old man who discusses his spiritual philosophy including the
belief that people who have had certain experiences can communicate these
experiences to each other in a symbolic language that is not readily
understandable to most people.
What most readers find fascinating is that
many familiar songs are interwoven throughout the story and looked at in a
way that is unique and thought provoking. A reviewer for Bookpleasures
said, "Actually, it is primarily through Gabe's radical interpretations of
the mentioned songs that one tends to become convinced of his
perspective's veracity."
Many of the songs are so familiar to people that
the author was able to do this without directly quoting the lyrics. A
reviewer for Mystic Living Today wrote, "There are many wonderful songs,
book references, and passages throughout that are beautifully brought to
life under the author's direct and interesting first person style."
While
many readers seem to be focusing on the Beatles songs referenced in the
book, songs by Jimi Hendrix and others are also referenced by the main
character to help illustrate spiritual concepts. The volume of examples
given and the interconnections between songs and artists have led many to
conclude that there is truth in what the main character says.
One of
Gabe's claims is that during certain creative states some people can
'channel' the Universal Mind and be unaware that they are doing so. Gabe
cites Plato and many others to support this concept. Purported examples
are given including songs by Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. Gabe
believes that this experience is what some of the Sufi call shathiyat and
what Joseph Campbell called transcendent poetry. What may be most
controversial is Gabe's claim that this archetypical poetic experience is
'the speaking in tongues' of the early Christians. It is probably this
concept that has appealed to readers who identify themselves as being 'new
age'.
Word of the book has shown up on websites like The Holistic
Bulletin. The reviewer for Mystic Living Today said, " I would recommend
this book to anyone who likes an enlightened and spiritual read.." A
glowing review in the magazine Sub Rosa called the book "as original as it
is inspirational."
One of the things that differentiates The Gift of Gabe
from other books in the visionary fiction genre is that it
incorporates factual information and events in a way that is similar to
historical fiction. Some readers have had a scholarly interest in the book
seeing it as a modern myth that incorporates the philosophy of Aldous
Huxley, Alan Watts, G.I.Gurdjieff, and others.
While some are predicting
that the book will become a countercultural classic, the book is clearly
not for everyone. A reviewer for Round Table Reviews wrote, "The Gift of
Gabe is well written, but the subject matter was too over the top for me."
The same reviewer still recommended the book for some saying, "Those with
a strong interest in The Beatles and philosophy will be thrilled with
Brian Joseph's novel."
Purchase Brian Joseph's The Gift of Gabe
For more information visit the official website
http://www.giftofgabe.com/
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