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Rating: 
Summary: With a title like this....
Review: It's no wonder I'm the first reader to review this book (the other review is obviously submitted by the publisher). So deep is the male fear of what this book is named after that even the publishers suggested that the author not use the word "castration" in the title. In the first chapter, author Eugene Monick writes that CASTRATION AND MALE RAGE depends on his first book, PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE, for its foundational concepts. Since that first work designates phallos (the erect member) as an "existential god-image" for men, the reluctance of any reader to come forward with a review for a book named after the loss of that god-image is not surprising. Indeed, this present volume had to sit on my shelf for over three years before I could muster the strength to approach it, and it's taken me months to come up with the courage to write this review. Castration, in the context of this book, certainly does not pertain to the literal loss of any body part. Instead, it addresses the psychological state of a man feeling degraded, feeling humiliated, feeling that his masculinity has been taken from him or at least reduced in the eyes of others. Such metaphorical castration can come in many different forms, from other men and even from women, from life situations, but the result is often the experience of rage, hence the title of this volume. It's a painful topic, no doubt. But I think it is one that needs to be addressed because the potential for healing is so great. I'm thankful that Eugene Monick had the, well, you know, to go where few other authors have. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the masculinities and spiritual/psychological healing for men. About five years ago, after reading PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE, I wrote to Eugene Monick and thanked him for his work. He kindly replied, and even asked permission to quote a passage from my letter in his next book, the third in this "phallos" trilogy (I told him I would be honored). We've since lost touch, and I have no information as to the publication date of that third volume, unfortunately. But I recently made an interesting discovery: Eugene Monick is mentioned several times in the sixth volume of THE DIARY OF ANAIS NIN. See, Mr. Monick was once the vicar of St. Clement's Church in New York City. Anais Nin "ensorcelled" many with frequent speaking engagements at Monick's church in the 1970s (a picture of her speaking at his church is actually included in that sixth volume of her diary). I found this a startling coincidence because, as any follower of my reviews will know, over the last two years I have become deeply interested in Anais Nin and am now the virtual king of Anais commentary in this Amazon jungle. Andrew Parodi
Rating:
Summary: With a title like this....
Review: It's no wonder I'm the first reader to review this book. So deep is the male fear of what this book is named after that even the publishers suggested that the author not use the word "castration" in the title. In the first chapter, author Eugene Monick writes that CASTRATION AND MALE RAGE depends on his first book, PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE, for its foundational concepts. Since that first work designates phallos (the erect member) as an "existential god-image" for men, the reluctance of any reader to come forward with a review for a book named after the loss of that god-image is not surprising. Indeed, this present volume had to sit on my shelf for over three years before I could muster the strength to approach it, and it's taken me months to come up with the courage to write this review.
Castration, in the context of this book, certainly does not pertain to the literal loss of any body part. Instead, it addresses the psychological state of a man feeling degraded, feeling humiliated, feeling that his masculinity has been taken from him or at least reduced in the eyes of others. Such metaphorical castration can come in many different forms, from other men and even from women, from life situations, but the result is often the experience of rage, hence the title of this volume. It's a painful topic, no doubt. But I think it is one that needs to be addressed because the potential for healing is so great. I'm thankful that Eugene Monick had the, well, you know, to go where few other authors have. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the masculinities and spiritual/psychological healing for men.
About five years ago, after reading PHALLOS: SACRED IMAGE OF THE MASCULINE, I wrote to Eugene Monick and thanked him for his work. He kindly replied, and even asked permission to quote a passage from my letter in his next book, the third in this "phallos" trilogy (I told him I would be honored). We've since lost touch, and I have no information as to the publication date of that third volume, unfortunately. But I recently made an interesting discovery: Eugene Monick is mentioned several times in the sixth volume of THE DIARY OF ANAIS NIN. See, Mr. Monick was once the vicar of St. Clement's Church in New York City. Anais Nin "ensorcelled" many with frequent speaking engagements at Monick's church in the 1970s (a picture of her speaking at his church is actually included in that sixth volume of her diary). I found this a startling coincidence because, as any follower of my reviews will know, over the last two years I have become deeply interested in Anais Nin and am now the virtual king of Anais commentary in this Amazon jungle.
Andrew Michael Parodi
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