Title: Saint Richard Parker: His search for love and enlightenment across India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia – Merlin Franco – Book Review
Author: Merlin Franco
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Travelogue cum Adventure
Format: Kindle
Number of Pages: 430
Link for Purchase: https://amzn.eu/d/dpqA0t5
My Take:
All of us wonder about the true meaning of life every now and then. Richard Parker is one such man who is on a quest to attain enlightenment or Nirvana. He sets forth on an expedition to east Asia in search of the elusive mystery of life when an astrologer tells him his destiny lies there. The story of his travels unfold in the form of several adventures which are funny and at the same time make us ponder deeply. He tries to find enlightenment through two means. The first is through sexuality and the second is spirituality.
The quest for Nirvana takes Parker to several countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to name a few. He does not plan this journey. He recognises what he refers to as signs which are actually derived from the events that happen around him. These signs lead him on in his meanderings. He also has the ever ready voice of bhagwan (Osho) directing him in his quest. The book is written with subtle and extremely entertaining humour. We find that the author has pointed out the ironies and vagaries of religion with a skillful pen. He points out the fallacies in almost all religions and the book is not a critique of any one faith.
He meets several beautiful women as he travels from place to place. But nirvana through sexuality eludes him. He then decides to takes the spiritual path. And he finally fulfills his quest a unique manner.
The book deals with several moral questions of very great importance. Among these the author addresses the tendency of religions to dictate the dietary habits of followers. He also deals with the sanctity of the ritualistic dictates imposed by religions on the adherents.
He questions the way christians are referred to as rice bag converts by the fringe elements of the society. He does not restrain himself to religion. He also boldly questions several other evils plaguing the society.
For example he questions the nexus between businesses and politicians and the corruption that infects these establishments. As I mentioned before what I found heart-warming was that he has not been one-sided in his approach in any of the issues he deals with.
The author has dealt with everything very deftly and with great aplomb. The whole book is written in words sprinkled with liberal doses of humour which sometimes bring a smile to your lips and sometimes makes you laugh loud. Sometimes they even shock the reader.
The book is also an excellent travelogue and gives the reader a lot of information about the various countries the author visits. He describes in detail the history of these places, the colourful people he encounters on his journey to name a few things that endeared me to this book.
On the negative side, I have to say this. The book is too long and rambles on endlessly. Even very trivial things are described in vivid detail which is really not necessary. The book was around 430 pages on my Kindle app.
But, all said and done it is a very good book and the flow of the narrative is smooth. You will like it if you enjoy travelogues that are wrapped in humour and have an adventurous story to go along with it. Do pick it up!
Rating: I am going with a 4/5 for this book. It is a very fine and absorbing read and raises several pertinent questions. I am cutting off a point for the reasons I have mentioned.
Rating Scale:
1 Poor
2 Fair
3 Good
4 Excellent
5 Outstanding
Travelogue fiction?
Exactly. The language is really caustic and mocks at a large number of things. I am sure you would love it except for the length of the book.