Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms

Rating:
Summary: The Crosscultural Trickster
Review: Hynes, Doty, and the other authors in this collection do a pretty good job of negotiating a path through postmodern jargon in order to get to something to say. I especially like the distinction made (and blurred) between the trickster and the shaman--that while both trickster and shaman function as (un)reality instructors within a given group, each can address quite different fields of understanding. In an attempt not to present a unified monomyth but to address issues of divergence as well as commonality, the book's chapters cover a wide geographical and historical range: Native America to Africa, classical to contemporary lore. Well worth reading, this collection implies (as I believe its editors intend) a wealth of possibilities for future study.

Rating:
Summary: The Crosscultural Trickster
Review: Hynes, Doty, and the other authors in this collection do a pretty good job of negotiating a path through postmodern jargon in order to get to something to say. I especially like the distinction made (and blurred) between the trickster and the shaman--that while both trickster and shaman function as (un)reality instructors within a given group, each can address quite different fields of understanding. In an attempt not to present a unified monomyth but to address issues of divergence as well as commonality, the book's chapters cover a wide geographical and historical range: Native America to Africa, classical to contemporary lore. Well worth reading, this collection implies (as I believe its editors intend) a wealth of possibilities for future study.