Dark Night of the Soul: St. John of the Cross

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece marred by a misled translator
Review: Dark Night of the Soul is no doubt a masterpiece, but Mirabai Starr has taken it upon himself to touch it up. Beware of such irresponsible and arrogant work by a translator. A translator trying to cut out the undeniably Catholic view from which St. John of the Cross is intrinsically deriving is likened to a museum curator trying to make Mona Lisa's smile less winsome.

Do read this work of art, but find a different edition. We should all boycott buying stolen work at all costs. Starr has tried to pass off work that is not his own, NOR St. John of Cross' as it originally was.

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece marred by a misled translator
Review: John of the Cross is, for me, quite simply the crucial Christian contemplative; his dark night spirituality is still the absolute state of the art for anyone beyond the feel-good phase of a life of prayer. My copy of the excellent Cavanaugh-Rodriquez translation of John's collected works (which is the definitive scholarly translation, in my opinion, not the Peers version) is so well-thumbed it has to be be held together by tape. But I've always hesitated to recommend the works of John of the Cross even to people I am sure would benefit by his wisdom, because his writing is extremely difficult, a somewhat windy, dry, and arcane 16th-century style, dense with scriptural allusion and theological citation, repetitive, and, in several cases, literally unfinished. Mirabai Starr is clearly the gifted editor John has been waiting for. Her poet's ear and mystic's heart are just what was needed to bring the depth, lucidity, and loving essence of John's most famous work into a form that is accessible at last to a wider range of contemporary seekers. Her translation of "The Dark Night," and her beautiful and wise introduction, are exquisitely lucid. The language is fresh, the pacing crisp, and even the most difficult passages are made clear and musical, capturing both the joy and the genuine, sometimes terrifying challenge of the soul's journey into the deepest mysteries of God, into what T.S. Eliot, another Christian mystic who could sometimes use a translator, called "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything." Mirabai has shown us both the simplcity, and the absolute cost, of the deepest spirituality, in this gorgeous gift of a book, this labor of love, which seems to me to be destined to become a classic.

Rating:
Summary: My All Time Favorite Book
Review: Next to Holy Scripture that is, but then again I do not consider the Bible to be compared with any other human work.

PROS - The first time I read DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL I couldn't understand it, but could tell it contained something worth study. The second time I read it, I began to glimpse that it spoke of something beyond me, but extremely important. The third time I read it, it made my theology feel like that of a preschooler. I finally went to stay in a monastery for a few days so I could be tutored in understanding this book. The next time I read it, it began to make sense. Though it is still over my head, today this is my all time favorite book, no matter who does the translation.

CONS - That being said, translation is very important to understanding this book. John was distinctly Christian. Any attempt to universalize his writings might yield something of value, but of far less value than John intended. Mirabai Starr's translation minimizes Christian references intentionally.

VERDICT - I personally give this and all other translations 5 stars. I am happy to have this translation in my library. However, it lacks some of the punch of others I have studied.

Rating:
Summary: Tragic Mistranslation
Review: Starr writes in the preface "Who was I to speak for this enlightened being and assign myself as his personal editor?...John is a Christian mystic known for using only the lightest touches when it comes to direct Christian reference. These have been minimized still further, not out of disrespect for Christianty, far from it, but because I felt that this way the universality of his wisdom would shine through even more brightly...."

In the very least Starr has defaced a work of art. At worst, Starr has authored a book that purposefully misrepresents John. She calls John an enlightened being and then tries to improve him. Would you try to improve Michelangelo's art work? What arrogance.
John would be shocked at this purposeful mistranslation that seeks to lead people away from his own savior. I advise you to stay away from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Starr writes in the preface "Who was I to speak for this enliughtened being and assign myself as his personal editor?...John is a Christian mystic known fo rusing only the lightest touches when it comes to direct Christian reference. These have been minimized still further, not out of disrespect for Christianty, far from it, but because I felt that this way the universality of his wisdom would shine through even more brightly...."

In the very least Starr has defaced a work of art. At worst, Starr has created an abomination. She calls John an enlightened being and then tries to improve him. Would you try to improve Michelangelo's art work? What arrogance.
John would be shocked at this purposeful mistranslation that seeks to lead people away from Christ. John lived among Muslims and could have easily written his book to help them, but he did not. For he believed, very intensely than anything else, that Christ was supreme and that there is no salvation in anyone else. (Acts 4:12 "There is Salvation in no one else")
Stay away from this book.