The Gardens of Light (Interlink World Fiction)

Beautifully written, captivating. A necessary book about an important man whose life and teachings have been intentionally obscured by those in power for almost two millenia. You won't regret reading it. The only thing I would have liked to have seen more of was his teachings and philosophy. It was mostly a history of his life. But that at least was well done.

I read this book in my twenties. It still surprises me. The clear writing. The clear message. This was the book that made me an Amin Maalouf fan. Other books followed. Ik las dit boek als twintiger. Het blijft me verbazen. De sobere stijl, de helderheid van de boodschap. Het exotische karakter die doet dromen om het Nabije Oosten zelf te bezoeken. Er is weinig veranderd. Dit boek was mijn eerste Maalouf boek en ik was op slag fan. Andere werken volgden: De kruistochten vanuit een Arabisch perspectief, de rots van Tanios, De omzwervingen van B., Leo Africanus, ...

I always utilize the Folger library editions when I watch a play. In this case, the BBC productions were outstanding. Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom and Patrick Stewart are such geniuses! Having the book to follow along gives great insight into the meaning and absolute beauty of his language. Enjoy!

Every line of the book was interesting and sometimes I had to force myself to stop reading and sleep. As it is always the case with Amin Maalouf's writings that you get the whole package, of nice story, knowlledge about history, culture, art and relegion of the region it covers.

Taking the sparse known facts about the founder of Manichaeism the book tells a semi-fictional biography of Mani, from his birth to his death. The book left me with mixed feelings. It's a nice read that reminds of a biblical story, focused on the prophet and the kings, archetypal, clear-cut. In addition it may serve as an intro into the history of the Sassanian Empire. But having such exciting subjects as Mani and Sassanids the book falls short in exploring them. It only scratches tenets of Manichaeism and lacks character study and historical complexity. Overall, if you are interested in Mani or the Sassanian Empire the book can be a good starting point, but otherwise it's a nice, but missable read.

For years Amin Maloof was out of print or not available in the U.S. He is a beautiful writer, and I'm so happy to own my own copy of this lyric and uplifting book.

...founder of Manichaeism, from his first encounters with his inner voice, his first communications with God. He founded a popular religion in Iran while making alliances with the rulers and suggesting a sort of pantheism, embracing aspects of Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. Well-written and short, but certainly interesting.

This is an inspirational account of one of the giants of ancient spirituality.