Book Review of 5 Literary Masterpieces That Shaped My Personal Growth: A Journey Through Time, Philosophy, and Adventure
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Literature has the immense power to shape human thoughts, challenge people's beliefs, and probably most importantly inspire personal growth. We will therefore attempt to delve into seven masterpieces that played tremendous roles in making me the person I am today. These works of literature range from enchanting tales to philosophical novels, and as a result, create a rich layered flavor that shines both on intellectual and emotional levels.
1. **Momo by Michael Ende:**
"Momo" by Michael Ende made me realize the importance of human relationships, the impact of consumerism on society, and the nature of time itself. Momo who is the main character of the story happens to have the profound skill of True Listening, which enables her to open other people's hearts including one of the Men in Grey which is the group of villains in the story. The subtle invasion of the Men in Grey helped me understand how it would be when a society is more and more driven by artificially made demands or greed, in this case for time. The main idea about time or being in the moment also perfectly aligns with Buddha's teaching about mindfulness.
2. **The Neverending Story by Michael Ende:**
"The Neverending Story," by Michael Ende, is a story about a boy who stumbles upon a mysterious book and is ultimately invited to enter the story within that book. The realm within that story is called Fantasia, which turns out to be the story of all stories, as all stories emerge from Fantasia. Michael Ende's incredible storytelling skill made me doubt from time to time that this novel had been written by an actual human being because I have never felt the presence of any ordinary human ego within this book, as I often would find in other authors' works. I have read this book several times in my life at various ages, and every time I discover new life lessons, which is not surprising at all considering the numerous metaphors and hidden messages that had been planted by Ende within the book.
Though being categorized as a children's or youth literature, "The Neverending Story," can also be seen as a Dhamma teachings book in disguise that should appreciated by people of all age ranges.
3. **Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder:**
"Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder should be considered as the introduction novel to Philosophy for beginners. The author successfully simplified complex philosophical ideas for the content to become more digestible for even young readers. Jostein Gaarder's choice to name the main character Sophie was the icing on the cake because it so fittingly brings out the meaning of Philo and Sophie, which together means the love of wisdom and is reflected by the way how Gaarder invites readers to contemplate life's fundamental questions with gradually growing wisdom. This novel ought to be in every household with children or young adults.
Click here to get Sophie's World for free from Audible when you sign up for a free trial!
4. **Demian by Hermann Hesse:**
"Demian" by Hermann Hesse tells the story of Emil Sinclair who befriends Max Demian during his school years. Emil grew up in a rather religiously strict family in which the norm of society was strongly upheld, however, through his encounter with Max Demian and Eva, Max's mother, Emil's life and worldview changed drastically as he was more or less encouraged and influenced by Max to question all the dogmatic aspects that he was taught before he met with Max. This turned out to be very essential to Emil's inner growth aligning with the quote “The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas.” that appears within the book.
Click here to get Demian for free from Audible when you sign up for a free trial!
5. **One Piece by Eiichiro Oda:**
I was 17 when "One Piece" by Eiichiro Oda first came out and honestly I assumed that it would probably be just another Manga that would come and go, but I couldn't have been more wrong. "One Piece turned out to be much more than just a Manga. The more I read "One Piece" the more I started to appreciate numerous things about "One Piece" such as the diverse characters with their unique backgrounds, the way the story evolves, as well as the fact Oda had created a whole new world for One Piece that has its own culture, history, fashion, and law of physics. At one point readers might be laughing at the jokes and gags within the story, a few moments later one might have to cry his or her tears out because of the sad and heartbreaking situations or backstories. Considering all the things I love about "One Piece", the literary value of this masterpiece by Oda is no less than the works such as Lord of the Rings and the like.
My conclusion is that these five masterpieces are testaments to the transformative power of literature in its diverse forms that individually can expand human minds, touch people's hearts, and even inspire personal growth within every one of us. I feel very fortunate to be able to have read Momo since I was a little child, which somehow created a kind of mental immune system within me to never be infected by blind consumerism. Having read The Neverending Story introduced me to a rather high standard of art and literate appreciation. Sophie's World gave me a proper foundation in the very basics of philosophy and enabled me to develop the skill to simplify complex ideas into easier to processed manner of language. Demian was my initial introduction to critical thinking and ultimately also the idea of existentialism. It taught me not to believe anything just because you were told that way since you were young. The real world of ideas will only open up after the shell of originally existing ideas has been shattered and one is given the chance to build his or her structure of ideas that makes up the world of our perceptions.
And it was more than nice to have had the chance to read One Piece from the very start in my teens. While I'm reading One Piece, I often feel like I am growing inside alongside Luffy and his crew.
These masterpieces played great roles in making me the person that I am today.
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