Rating: 
Summary: So badly written that the message barely comes through
Review: I enjoyed reading everyone else's Amazon reviews a lot more than the book itself! It's good to see so many people interested enough in a subject to take the time to comment -- positively or negatively. Yes, I understand the need for more ecological harmony in the world. Yes, I think that there are people out there who live more balanced lives than Westerners. Morgan's message was so trite and obvious that there really wasn't anything new to learn in it. And it was so badly written that the message could barely show through at all. I don't think that asking a writer to communicate well is being a jaded literary snob. The purpose of language is to deliver ideas; badly used language delivers ideas badly. Ultimately it leads to more dire consquences than simply a few hours wasted on a bad book. One of my favorite quotes, attributed to Confuscious: "If what is said is not what is meant, then all that is to be done remains undone."
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Summary: This book bored me to tears!
Review: I read this book for my reading group. A woman suggested it and said it was her favorite book. I kept reading and reading, waiting for it to get better, but alas it did not. I have read other books on indigenous tribes that were real, honest and inspiring. This did nothing for me and was a waste of my time.
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Summary: A scary new age hoax
Review: This is one scary book--and not just because it is so poorly written. Indeed, it is scary because it is represented as a fictionalised true story. The names have been changed either to protect the innocent or to bamboozle the gullable. You choose after reading the rest of this review. Morgan presents "Mutant [or is it mutilated?] Message" as a factual novel, a novel based on her actual experiences in the Australian outback with an Australian tribe that calls itself "The Real People." However, the novel has little if any basis in fact: she gets just about everything wrong, from desert fauna and flora (one can't walk on spinifex grass), to the hierarchies and rituals of desert Aborigines (Aborigines don't have chiefs!), to the simple things like Australian currency (they don't use quarters in Australian phone booths) and geography. Much of what Morgan tries to pass off as Australian and Aboriginal culture fits better with North American culture. And speaking of consigning a people to cultural oblivion . . . . Perhaps more scary than all this misrepresentation is the message itself. Okay, I'll admit to being a closet New Ager. I like the idea of universal oneness--as long as universal doesn't mean European or American. And I'm cool with the New Age. I even have a few Wyndham Hill albums. But the idea that human beings should come to appreciate universal oneness is not the only message of this novel. The really scary message is that universal oneness comes with a tacit acceptance of genocide--self-effacement at its most dangerous. Morgan's point that the Aborigines of Australia--the "Real People" in particular--have agreed to disappear, have accepted the genocidal policies of successive Australian governments, is not only an untruth, but is an invitation to readers to acquiesce in such policies. Hey, if these fictional Aborigines are enlightened enough to accept their oblivion--or is that oneness?--why should we protest? Just my $0.02. Which is about all I would pay for this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: offers great insight into the Aboriginal culture.
Review: This is a timely book and is a great contribution towards reconciliation. Australia is currently trying to come to terms with its past. The book is not only helpful as far as gaining a better understanding of the cultural differences but is also helpful in re-assessing our value system.
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Summary: GREAT SPIRITUAL QUEST
Review: SOMEHOW THIS BOOK FOUND IT'S WAY INTO MY LIFE WHEN TIMES WERE BAD. IT SHOWED ME A WAY OF LOOKING AT LIFE AND A UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE MISS JUST BY THE TRAPPINGS OF OUR EXISTENCE. VERY INSIGHTFUL AND WELL WRITTEN.
Rating:
Summary: Offensive fantasy with NO basis in fact.
Review: This book is a fantasy of the authors and has no basis in fact as claimed by the author. I was greatly horrified by its vacuousness and trashy new-age sentiment. The book itself is described as hurtful by Australian Aborigines. It is modern white colonialism at its very worst, magnified by ill-defined new-age sentiment and modern anxieties about identity and meaning in modern Western society -- none of which is any excuse for the presentation of this offensive rubbish as anything other than the neurotic over active imagination of the author. At best it is silly hippy tripe; at worst it is theft, misappropriation and misrepresentation of the very worst kind. There is no Aboriginal clan group of the kind described by the author; there are also easily verifiable errors of fact. If you are interested in learning about -actual- Aboriginal culture check any of the better texts listed in Amazon, pref. those by Aboriginal authors; this one has no basis in reality. The very worst offensive rubbish about aborigines I have ever read -- I rate it much worse than white supremacist propaganda, which are at least honest about their motives.
Rating:
Summary: 'Mutant 'says it all!
Review: Someone mentioned in passing that they had read this book and whatever they said prompted me to buy it. I'm so glad I did. Whatever one may say about the author's style of writing or her intentions when writing the book the essence of it was what I was felt. I don't think it was fiction. The message was clear and so real. I have found it such an inspiration and would recommend it to everyone. Far from representing the Aborigines badly I think it provides insight into a rich and valuable way of life that few have been aware of or cared about. I, for one, want my life to be tuned into that 'Eternal Beingness'- I don't want to wait till I've passed away. Think about it!
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable fiction with good messages
Review: I read this book purely as a fiction, as some of the other reviews suggested. I tried not to get into the debate over the possible exploitation of the aboriginals for the author's own success (although I found the debate interesting). As a fiction, the book was a fun, easy read, with lessons we all know but are in need of constant reminding. I was, however, disturbed when reading "The Road From Coorain" an autobiography by Jill Ker Conway published in 1989. The very first chapter described kangaroos as being from 2 to 8 feet tall and ranging in color from a soft dove grey to a reddish color (or something like that). Wasn't there a very, very similar description in "Mutant Message"? I am just curious, but not enough to look it up word for word.
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Summary: We Are All Mutants
Review: I cried with exhilaration throughout this book. I realized that much of these truths delivered by the Real People, I've had a sense of before. Regardless of whether some agree with this book or not, one cannot deny this woman her experience. To grade her writing skills or judge her experience is the prime example of "mutant" thinking that has controlled us for centuries. I don't buy that way of thinking. The truth can be frightening, perhaps that's why we condem and alter the truth to our advantage. The message in this book is bigger than all of us, we've heard this from many 'mutants' and have become complacent...we've been warned by the Real People and will probably remain complacent. I for one, will not kill the messenger. As this book was a gift to me, it will be a gift to many for as long as there are books in print.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it, even the hard to relate to parts.
Review: I have read this book twice in a 3 year span. Each time I found a helpful and different life perspective. This helps me keep my eyes on the important things in life. Don't sweat the small stuff.
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