The Prophet

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately 5 stars is the highest
Review: I would give this 20 stars if I could. I first found this book when I was in my late teens. It has shaped the person I am. To say that this is beautiful and profound is not enough. Never enough. I own 3 copies, for home, office and one I travel with.

Rating:
Summary: How to live and accept life.
Review: The Prophet Almustafa waits in the city of Orphalese for his ship to take him home. For twelve years he has loved, cried, laughed, taught, dreamt, and lived with strangers. He is joyous when he sees the sails on the horizon. "Long were the days of pain I have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness; and who can depart from his pain and aloneness without regret?"

What can a poor man leave for those he has learned to love? Almustafa walks through the city, across the sands, toward the shore; as he does, he pauses to answer the questions of the heart. "Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and thirst."

His words will pass from generation to generation in Orphalese. The metaphor is reality, for the wisdom of his celebration of life is as powerful today as it was when it was published in 1923.

Some of my favorite passages are:
Of Joy and Sorrow -- "The deeper the sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?"
Of Giving -- "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
Of Reason and Passion -- "Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul."
Of Time -- "You would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing. Yet, the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream."

Each phrase carries you from one thought to another. The profoundness of his truth is not gleaned until the words are read many times. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran is extraordinary, and will always be one of my favorite books of philosophy, poetry, wisdom, mysticism, and prose.

Victoria Tarrani

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Deepest Human Thoughts Ever Written
Review: All of us have compelx thoughts, ideas and questions about life and what goes in it's circle; the difficult part is how to express them with words, write them down, or asking them and get who ever reads what we write to understand what we mean. Gibran (as I believe) contributed to humanity by writing his The Prophet book; a book that is a must have for any one who seeks to find answers for the deepest questions in life from the time they are born untill death. Deep words that are able to take you to a totally another world, a writing style that is unique by it's own. The Prophet will expand your vision of things and make you a better person. As Gibran was not only a writer but an artist too, this would be his ultimate achievment; a book that you will always cherish having, and never get bored reading.

Rating:
Summary: prophetic beauty, undeniable truth
Review: Gibran's words strike as deep and sudden as lightning, and lay bare to you, with unbelievable simplicity, the truths of human life. And they do so beautifully. To read this book is to enrich yourself, enlighten yourself, and to enjoy some of the most beautiful words ever written. Gibran's accompanying drawings are as mystical and moving as his words, and accentuate the utterances of the Prophet.

The sheer wisdom and beauty of this little book is undeniable. All hail the Prophet.

Rating:
Summary: Discourses
Review: The Prophet dispenses ultimate wisdom to his loved ones as he bids fare well.

Khalil Gibran defines all that I never had words to define, or more appropriately, did not have the good sense to define. I discovered this book a while back and took a long time to read it since I refused to rush through it. I read it a lesson at a time, understanding it to the best of my ability.

I found a way of life in these words. I could read it everyday and each time these words would dispense a new lesson... like a never ending treasure.

Rating:
Summary: Perspective
Review: I found this book when I was 14 years old and snooping through my older sisters bedroom. I sat there and read it until she got home (and I got yelled at for being in her room!) Here I was...a self absorbed teenage girl, caught up in my woes and romances and clothes. The words pulled me out of myself and into my own heart. They've lingered with me since that time (23 years ago) and I still love them. I've given this book to countless friends and I've had the passage on Friendship read by the guests at my wedding. This book is just simply a very beautiful way to pause and reflect upon our relationships and perspectives. A gentle reminder not to be fearful or attempt to be controlling. Don't we all need that?

Rating:
Summary: The Prophet
Review: This is one of the most beautyful books I've ever read. Gibran masters the english language exsquisitly. One cannot be anything els then truly moved by the magnificence of this book. Reading it one automatically reflects on ones own life. Gibran is beyond a doubt one of the greatest poets ever!

Rating:
Summary: divine wisdom in earthly words.
Review: Certainly the words are of Kahlil Gibran, but the eternally PRESENT divine wisdom told through his words is from the source of all sources. Only those who are ready to receive the divine wisdom are destined to read and know the meaning behind the meanings of his words. This is one of the five most valued books that I keep on refering again and again for solace and peace of MYSELF.
While writing - or rather while being an instrument to write this book - Kahlil Gibran must have reached the original source of all the knowledge and wisdom available to humankind.
Gibran's book is music, poetry, wisdom and truth - all at the same time!
I salute Kahlil Gibran for giving us the "THE PROPHET".

Rating:
Summary: A Must.
Review: This belongs in EVERY spiritual persons home library. Easy reading on easy spiritual truths!!!

Rating:
Summary: Life-Changing
Review: A dear friend of mine bought me a copy of this book a few weeks ago while we were in a book store together. Inside the front cover she wrote the words, "never leave home without it". I thumbed through the book that evening, finding myself caught on passage after passage, and to this day I tuck it carefully into my bag as I leave the house every day.

Divided into books or chapters by topic, each only a few pages long but full of remarkable insight and understanding, the book reads almost in parables. The individual sections are held together by the narrator, a man leaving a village he has lived in for years to return home. The book is written as his observations on the lives of the villagers.

I find myself returning almost daily to a few selected chapters, and the few minutes it takes to refresh them in my mind are well worth it. If you've come far enough to find this review and the others alongside it, you owe it to yourself to find a copy of this book.