"The Story of B" by Daniel Quinn

First, a little background on what has now become a little bit of a Daniel Quinn obsession - it began on the day of my accident. For those of you who know me, you'll recall my grandmother and I were hit by a car on August 4 of this year. I was holding a copy of "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn at the time, and it quite possibly stopped the concussion I suffered from being fatal.

Needless to say, I was more than compelled to give the book a chance, and I ended up loving it to piece. Then I picked up "My Ishmael" and was equally as enthralled.

Restless for something else to read, I realized that a good friend of mine from elementary/middle school, Claire, recommended that I read "The Story of B" by Daniel Quinn also, and I had never yet had the chance to do so. The first chance I had, I picked up a copy from Borders, and if books were food, I absolutely devoured it.


I usually hate books written from a first person perspective with a passion, hence my inability to read the Twilight series - but Quinn manages to do so with such painstaking realism and conversationalism that I could really believe that it was a story being told directly to me.

The characterization is meticulous and believable - everything from Father Jared Osborne's downward spiral away from his preconceived notions of faith, to Shirin's dealings with disease and taking on shoes that are too big for her to fill. Quinn's strength lies in using the flaws to make, not break, the heroes.

I don't want to give away a great deal about the book, because doing so would detract from the experience of reading it yourself. However, I will say that even though the alternative perspectives that Quinn presents in many of his works may seem unattainable, they are not as far-fetched as they appear at first glance. "Beyond Civilization", also by Daniel Quinn, is more of a real-life field guide to the alternative lifestyle detailed in Quinn's book, taking it from a dogmatic, hippy ideal to a viable option available to those who are willing to change - and if Jared Osborne's final words in "The Story of B" doesn't send sufficient chills down your spine to jumpstart that willingness, you haven't read intently enough.