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Summary: Inspirational in the truest sense
Review: It would be hard to say enough good things about this book. It is absolutely frank, open, and honest. For anyone out there who has read about Zen and thinks that it seems cold, detatched, or without love, please read this book as evidence that Zen is a path to love and to truth as pure as any. Top ten all time for me, and that's placing it on my list conservatively. Thanks Nat, for the first time in my life after reading a book, I feel as if I truly have gained a friend. This book has inspired me to live more honestly, and for that I cannot be grateful enough.
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Summary: A gentle, peaceful book ...........
Review: My friend Tim suggested I read this book and after a few paragraphs, I couldn't put it down. Some may read Long Quiet Highway for writing or Zen insight, which it provides in abundance. I read it delighted in the passion Natalie exudes from every sentence and image. I could see the big sky in New Mexico or feel the chill of the Minnesota winter and even shed some tears of joy and sadness. Whew!
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Summary: an inspiration...
Review: Natalie Goldberg's book, Long Quiet Highway, is the story of her as a writer learning to cope with the solitude of life and love. She writes from her heart and truthfully tells her story about how she came into spirituality coming from a suburban home. Her story brings an awareness to writers as to how much work and dedication goes into the art, even when nothing else seems to matter. Her words are poetic and musical on the page. This book is an inspiration to all writers and other artists who feel blocked and hopeless.
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Summary: Long Quiet Highway is a spiritual stroll
Review: Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones became a handbook fortaking another look at writing about our own lives. Just abouteveryone I knew had a copy. Now she's written about her own life: from her profound sleep of a suburban childhood, thru the first time she heard the rain, to her years as a student of Zen Buddhism. With moments of illumination, long discipline of daily practice, hilarious errors & stumbling over the grief resistance to change brings, Natalie Goldberg, wanders along the highway of her life, so far. A very satisfying read...
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Summary: It's a life...
Review: She may not be the archtypal Buddhist (if there is such a thing) but Goldberg illustrates with startleing clarity the beauty and difficulty inherent in the practice of Zen, which she effectively juxtaposes with the trials of an exceptional writers life. "Long Quiet Highway" is a breif disquisition on what it means to be human--specifically a literature loving dharm bum type of human. While Goldberg's "highway" is more emotive than contemplative (though she spends a lot of time contemplating her navel) there is little in the way of extraordinary events to satisfy the more fickle attention spans. No where does drugs, violence or explicit sexual information galvanize the text's content, so the strict adhearent to MTV sensibilities need not apply. It is, after all, a "quiet" ride, but an interesting and important one.
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Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Talk about disappointing! Goldberg is supposedly an up-and-coming writer, and after hearing about her for a while I decided to check out Long Quiet Highway. In fiction, it's usually a good idea to make your main character an enjoyable one. In non-fiction, you may not like the main character, but she should at least have some redeeming qualities. Goldberg is not only difficult to like or sympathsize with, she is also boring. I forced myself to finish reading, but the only thing that I could remember afterwards was the author complaining about how difficult it was to go to school because all of the other kids where eating peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches while she was forced to eat tuna. Oh, the pain of it all! If you have a strong interest in Zen, this book might hold some value for you. But there better Zen books out there.
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Summary: A "Must Read" If You Want to Know About Buddhism in America
Review: This book is unique in so many ways. The reason for the title is very telling: when asked how Buddhism will spread through America, the author's spiritual master replied: "It will spread through the U.S. like a 'long quiet highway'". What a perfect characterization of this country! Goldberg does a great job revealing how she is attracted to Buddhism. One passage I will never forget is her description of the first time she met her spiritual leader (Roshi); she reveals to her readers, in perfect detail, how the Roshi was watering a flower, and how every bit of his attention was focused on that action. Goldberg is truly a wonderful writer. I also was tremendously moved by her description of her relationship with Roshi, and how she grieved so deeply when he died. (I am going through something similar myself, and it is a uniquely emotional experience). I have never seen an author deal with this specific subject matter before. Natalie Goldberg, thank you so very much for this tremendous and deeply personal book.
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Summary: An Insufferable Book By An Insufferable Author
Review: This is the first of Ms. Goldberg's books that I've read (and likely the only). And although I searched deeply for some redeeming quality, I wasn't able to find anything about the book to like. The book is written in first person, which is fine, but Ms. Goldberg goes intolerably overboard. Randomly open the book to any page and count the number of first person references. I counted up to sixty on a single page. It's a real struggle to like Ms. Goldberg; but it's not necessary because she makes up for it through her narcissistic self-indulgence. She obviously loves herself enough that she doesn't need for any of us to love her too. She reminds us again and again that she's a writer, but nowhere in the book did I see any evidence that she has any writing talent. Evidently talent is not a requisite to sell books (thank God I checked this one out at the library). Her (alledged) search for her self identity through Zen Buddhism is a long, shallow, and sophomoric account of an insecure wanna-be author seemingly not at all interested in finding the true nature of Zen, but instead looking for recognition and confirmation as an author. Like many American followers of Zen, Ms. Goldberg appears to be chasing the vogue image of being a Zen Buddhist--Zen is cool. Her search is obviously a failure because there is no doubt that she never let go of her extreme self-centeredness (ego), nor did she succeed as an author (in my humble opinion). If you're looking for a book on Zen Buddhism, there are many good ones by GOOD authors. Try "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthieson for example--it's beautifully written by a talented author. If Ms. Goldberg's book hadn't been required reading for a graduate course, I wouldn't have made is past page 10. It was literally painful to get through.
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Summary: A spiritual journey of self-discovery
Review: This is the spiritual journey of the author, Natalie Goldberg. Natalie goes from high school teaching, to a commune in Taos, to a Zen center in Minnesota. She learns how to write, and teach others to write. The book focuses on a relationship that develops between Natilie and her spiritual teacher, a Zen monk. Natalie questions her spirituality, as a student of Zen, a member of the Jewish faith, and a grieving writer. Her attention to minute details, her description of her spiritual dilemnas, and her grief for a man who gave her his love leave the reader with an understanding of what makes life special and worth living. I was left with an overwhelming feeling of Natalie's loss, and the illumination of what it means to be alive, and present. Natalie's prose is beautiful, that alone is worth the read.
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Summary: One of my top 10!
Review: Though it's been several years since I first read this book, it remains one of my all time top 10! Often it's hard for spiritual books to adequately convey the real life path of muddle, muddle, diversion, muddle, muddle, diversion - breakthrough! muddle muddle...quality of the spiritual path. Natalie's teacher was so vivid, so alive to me by reading this book. I just finished '"Crooked Cucumber " this weekend while visiting Tassajara Hot Springs (a Zen center in California), which also goes on my top 10 list. It's the biography of Katagiri Roshi's dharma brother, Suzuki-Roshi, who started the SF Zen communities which Katagiri Roshi was intimately connected with. Both books involved me emotionally and were a very easy readable way in to Big Concepts I might never have grasped had not these personal stories been so compelling. At the end of each, I cried and cried, feeling as if I had known each of these men. I'd say this is about as good as it gets, for a reader. Highly recommended! Don't miss out!
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