Review of Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
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Quinton Manning
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- Latest Review: Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips
Review of Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King" by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips.]
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey is exactly its namesake; a profound but simple journey. Authors David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips write to life Bedu, a shepherd boy from Damascus who is sent on a mission by a Magi King, a friend of Bedu’s father Abbas. He is given three very simple tasks, to buy the best sheep from his cousin Wali in Hebron with a gift of five gold coins from the Magi King, to check on the Magi King’s daughter Yasmin in the cedar forest of Bsharri during the winter, and to look out for the seven stars of Pleiades along the way. Three simple tasks and yet, along this journey, Bedu is met with many unexpected challenges that teach him something new about the world, and about himself. At the beginning of this story, Bedu is concerned so much with how to be, who to be, where to be, why it is that he must be, that he neglects what it means to be. In Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey, we are invited to find out what it means to ‘be’ through how you ‘do’.
This book is uncomplicated and tender. It is not painful and it is not heavy. It does not linger too long on moments and it does not use inaccessible language. It does not try to challenge the reader’s beliefs nor try to intrusively drive home its points. It is a simple story with a clear plot and relatable characters. The story is neatly contextualized in the Middle East during approximately 30 AD and paints a vivid geographical landscape along the walking journey of Bedu. It runs parallel to the biblical story of Jesus’ birth and teachings, but this book does not try to create a value system by which to ascribe but offers morals that can be implemented into one’s own value system and daily interactions. The two stories intersect in small moments as catalysts for Bedu’s character growth. The journey is entertaining and unexpected. The moments that arise are heart-warming and easy to become enveloped in. The exchange between characters is earnest and hard worked for. The writing is simple and engaging. The poetry is well crafted. The simple journey of a boy becoming a poet and then a king is profound, and the title of the book is as clear and meaningful as the book it represents.
The only part of this book I did not entirely enjoy was the repetition of the journey in words at intervals in the book as Bedu would relay his journey to different people. Although it was not overbearing, and still well written, it felt redundant as a reader who traveled the journey along with Bedu and then is made to reread it. There was also a printing issue with the printing of certain pages, where parts of words were cut off, luckily, those cut-off sentences were repeated at the end of the book. This may have been my PDF version, however, it is something that affected my reading experience.
I rate Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey an enthusiastic 4 out of 4 stars. I would give it more if I could, and I will read this book multiple times in my life. This has easily become one of my new favorite books.
I recommend this book to all readers. I believe anyone and everyone would benefit greatly from reading this book. For younger readers, it will be an enjoyable and manageable challenge while offering morals to carry through life, and a fun hero’s journey. For experienced readers, this will be an easy read, and the enjoyment will be more in the storytelling, playful format, and unobtrusive manner of moral sharing.
******
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey is exactly its namesake; a profound but simple journey. Authors David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips write to life Bedu, a shepherd boy from Damascus who is sent on a mission by a Magi King, a friend of Bedu’s father Abbas. He is given three very simple tasks, to buy the best sheep from his cousin Wali in Hebron with a gift of five gold coins from the Magi King, to check on the Magi King’s daughter Yasmin in the cedar forest of Bsharri during the winter, and to look out for the seven stars of Pleiades along the way. Three simple tasks and yet, along this journey, Bedu is met with many unexpected challenges that teach him something new about the world, and about himself. At the beginning of this story, Bedu is concerned so much with how to be, who to be, where to be, why it is that he must be, that he neglects what it means to be. In Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey, we are invited to find out what it means to ‘be’ through how you ‘do’.
This book is uncomplicated and tender. It is not painful and it is not heavy. It does not linger too long on moments and it does not use inaccessible language. It does not try to challenge the reader’s beliefs nor try to intrusively drive home its points. It is a simple story with a clear plot and relatable characters. The story is neatly contextualized in the Middle East during approximately 30 AD and paints a vivid geographical landscape along the walking journey of Bedu. It runs parallel to the biblical story of Jesus’ birth and teachings, but this book does not try to create a value system by which to ascribe but offers morals that can be implemented into one’s own value system and daily interactions. The two stories intersect in small moments as catalysts for Bedu’s character growth. The journey is entertaining and unexpected. The moments that arise are heart-warming and easy to become enveloped in. The exchange between characters is earnest and hard worked for. The writing is simple and engaging. The poetry is well crafted. The simple journey of a boy becoming a poet and then a king is profound, and the title of the book is as clear and meaningful as the book it represents.
The only part of this book I did not entirely enjoy was the repetition of the journey in words at intervals in the book as Bedu would relay his journey to different people. Although it was not overbearing, and still well written, it felt redundant as a reader who traveled the journey along with Bedu and then is made to reread it. There was also a printing issue with the printing of certain pages, where parts of words were cut off, luckily, those cut-off sentences were repeated at the end of the book. This may have been my PDF version, however, it is something that affected my reading experience.
I rate Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey an enthusiastic 4 out of 4 stars. I would give it more if I could, and I will read this book multiple times in my life. This has easily become one of my new favorite books.
I recommend this book to all readers. I believe anyone and everyone would benefit greatly from reading this book. For younger readers, it will be an enjoyable and manageable challenge while offering morals to carry through life, and a fun hero’s journey. For experienced readers, this will be an easy read, and the enjoyment will be more in the storytelling, playful format, and unobtrusive manner of moral sharing.
******
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
