Book Report! Ishmael

When I find a book that becomes pivotal to my life, it almost becomes a part of me, like an extra appendage that I can rely on when needed. A book that provides insights and answers a myriad of esoteric questions, such as Ishmael, thus becomes more of an entity in my mind, maybe akin to a friend. Moreover, how I happen upon the book becomes part of the story...like how I meet a friend, or how I find a place to call home. So, you might guess that I don’t believe in coincidences, but I do believe in magic. I might even call it divine intervention (except that intervention somehow seems intrusive) and I happily, gratefully surrender to what finds its way onto my bookshelf.

Okay, the backstory...It was a rainy, wet Memorial day. A friend of mine had some tickets to see a band called The Mammals, which were gifted to her when there was a change in the date of the show because of the inclement weather. Passing the buck. Covid restrictions were starting to loosen, so it was the second time that week where I got to experience live, amplified music after 14 months of no access to this soul satisfying activity. The Mammals were folksy, fun - one of the singers had a Paul Simon vibe mixed with some bluegrass. At another point, the female fiddle player sang a soulful rendition of an Etta James song. Moreover, by the second set, the sun started peeping out and it was a glorious afternoon. Aside from sharing their musical gifts, they have a suitcase filled with second hand copies of Ishmael - An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit which they were giving away to anyone who was interested. Well, when you find a book like that, how can you say no.

The story starts with the narrator who discovers an ad in the personal section: “TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.” To me, these 3 simple lines speak volumes. I thought of my younger teen self, the yearning and burning to change something welling up in me. My subconscious has known it for sometime now. We’re fucked. Shit is fucked up.OMG, what are we going to do to unfuck ourselves. (I apologize for my abrupt use of foul language, but I’m not sure I feel like anything else can really express the sentiment.) I think of myself now, what is it that drives me to sometimes move away from the world, makes me want to shelter in place, debilitates me, and wonder what the point of it all is? I seek answers. I seek solutions. Perhaps, I even seek a teacher.

The character answers the ad and meets Ishmael, who has wisdom to impart. Basically, the book is a mixture of historical, philosophical, spiritual fiction, if any of that could be characterized as such. There’s surprises all along the way! Moreover, it tackles the question of “how things came to be” in a way that satisfies all the bewildering inconsistencies I’ve experienced in myself and with the world. We never get a glimpse of the narrator/pupil’s name. So, yes, the pupil is the reader and I’m grateful to take part.

In reading the book, I had a realization about my intuitive decision to become a chef two decades ago. Something about working with food and farming has given me insight to something I couldn’t name. What grows naturally is so abundant and its abundance is so intrinsic to the evolution of man on this planet. I’m not sure that this abundance was meant to be packaged and commodified. Our relationship with food is so delusional these days. Don’t get me started about a conventional supermarket! Ugh! Here’s an example of how things were meant to be.

“Food is everywhere, and one picks it up almost absent-mindedly, as one takes a breath of air. In fact, one does not think of feeding as a distinct activity. Rather, it’s like a delicious music that plays in the background of all activities throughout the day.”

Having shared my personal experience of the book, I assume too that the reader will get out of the book some insight on a burning question that’s lived within them since their rebellious years. Maybe the way to the future is to look at the backstory, I'm talking about the way, way, way backstory. Anyone with a basic understanding of math and observing ourselves knows the truth. How will we survive as a species, and how many other species, environments, ideas, attitudes, knowledge will we take with us? Ishmael, helped me understand some things I hadn’t put together before and thus have a clearer picture of what is happening, now or at least for the last ten thousand years. What I was left with was the hope that we get to participate and create a society and future where we fulfill a destiny of man in harmony with everything around us by the shaping and telling of a very different story.