SamSara

By Mel Mathews

After reading three books by Mathews, the gifts of this author become increasingly apparent . . . He is wise, clever, earthy, and has many surprises up his sleeve. From Carmel, California to Zurich,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977607623
• ISBN13: 9780977607624
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: il piccolo editions
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.9" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

SamSara: Mel Mathew's Finest Book to Date

For those who have had the pleasure of discovering Mel Mathews through his first two books, 'LeRoi' and 'Menopause Man', the wandering, questing central figure of Malcolm Clay has become a new literary icon. The promises so obviously made in the first parts of this (to date) trilogy happily have come to fruition in 'SamSara' - a novel of sophisticated writing, thoughtful ruminations, keen humor, informative explorations of themes from religion to traits of visited countries, and so many clever double entendres - that Mathews' place in the ranks of fine contemporary writers is assured. Mel Mathews has developed a style of interlocking his many characters, placing them strategically throughout the three books whether in flashbacks or dreams or weighing comparisons, of narrating in first person with his 40-year-old protagonist who has waded through a life of addiction, child abuse, frustrated love affairs, the success and boredom of being a tractor salesman, to the point of confrontation with his basic inner demons that prevent his success with women. In 'SamSara' he has reached a plane where he is seeking spiritual guidance, rolfing, and ultimately joining a group of twenty women in a trek to Florence, Italy for a seminar "Exploring the Images in Word and Art of Mary Magdalene: central to the theme is developing one's inner image of the feminine psyche". That is how committed to change is Malcolm Clay! From Carmel, California to Zurich, to Florence for the seminar (a period in which Mathews details so much interesting information about the feminine aspect of Christianity, Gnosticism, the concept that Mary Magdalene as the Holy Grail bore a child named Sara Kali by Christ and escaped to a French village Saintes Maries de la Mer where the annual celebration of Sara AKA the Black Queen still exists), to France, and to Ireland Malcolm Clay writes in diary fashion, emails, and in dreams shared about his progress in dissembling his dysfunctional approach to women and in the process finding the validity of his own existence. 'You know, there's something about becoming more aware of what unconsciously runs a person. Awareness is a thief. It's robbed me of an illusion; it's robbed me of the belief that the only way a man can make love to a woman is by physically penetrating her.' And from this stance Malcolm grows into an enlightened man, forgiving his past, and getting in touch with his internal masculine and feminine counterparts. One of the uniquely beautiful aspects of Mathews' writing is his ability to explore these thoughtful (even profound) topics with a effervescent sense of humor and a gift for communicating details of living in Florence, struggling with the French attitude, and seeking out the funky little eateries and Internet cafes in Ireland. For after all, the main reason for this meandering journey to Europe is to follow-up on a brief but meaningful encounter with a lass named Kelli whom he met in Carmel and agrees to meet in Ireland i

Journeys

As other reviewers have mentioned, Samsara could be seen as a mere travelogue, detailing in a hybrid daily journal-dream journal-manuscript form the protagonist, Malcolm Clay's, journey from California to Switzerland, Italy, France, and Ireland. This would be a mistake. Having read and reviewed the other two Malcolm Clay books, I have come to immediately look for the many layers of meaning in anything Mel Mathews relates through his complicated and often unlikable (anti)hero. The woman pursued by Malcolm is both real and ghost, both unique individual and a manifestation of Malcolm's own psyche, as are all of the characters he meets. This book delves into Jungian dream analysis, Mary Magadelene and the sacred feminine and the nature of Love. I find Malcolm, with all his yo-yo-ing, contradictions, generalizations,and prejudices to be a fascinating literary character and Samsara is an extension of these traits, reading at times like literature and at others like purely unedited journal entries. The book is framed in a larger world by a brief introduction by Adam, Malcolm's spiritual mentor, who tells us he received the manuscript, handwritten, by Malcolm, from Ireland. The book offers the most tantalizing and complex writing in any of the three books in its last handful of pages, where the lines between reality and dream, literature and confession converge and blur. There is a most intriguing typo (?) just two pages from the end where an drunken Irishman calls Malcolm "Saint Mal" and then "Saint Mel." The last paragraph is even more intriguing. I am curious to see where Malcolm continues to take us and how he continues to (albeit slowly) morph and grow.

An Adventure Not to be Missed! This Book has Soul.

Malcolm Clay is a profoundly honest and brave man who chases a beautiful woman from Carmel to Ireland, and at the end of the rainbow he finds hidden treasure within his own soul. SamSara is a work of fiction, but it is deeply authentic in its vivid detail of human internal struggle to understand the riddles of one's life. Only a few pages into SamSara, I found my-self on a grail quest as Malcolm Clay trekked about Europe with me along for the ride. In Firenze, Malcolm seeks understanding of the feminine amidst the relics of the Renaissance. "A lost in the world tractor salesman" tangled up with a group of female Ph.D.'s, some of which attempt to diagnose & classify him because of their inability to relate on a soulful level. Malcolm presses on and continues to listen to wisdom only to find himself in a small French village waiting for the next clue in his quest. Onward to Ireland where he is led on a treasure hunt searching for the Leprechaun from Carmel. Anyone who has the guts to search within himself and delve into the unknown will find this read an awesome adventure. Throughout his journey, Malcolm is a witness to lifeless souls existing rather than thriving, always a constant reminder to be true to himself and reclaim his life. A tapestry of humanity and suffering, for it folly and glory, Mel Mathews bears the soul of Malcolm Clay and distils the spirit of being alive by facing the demons of the past in an attempt to separate from the bondage of false beliefs and dogma. I look forward to Mel's next book.

SamSara, reviewed by Gustav Jack Moos

True this book takes you on a physical journey from California to Ireland via Switzerland, Italy, and France. However, if a potential reader quickly glancing over the back cover thinks this will be run of the mill - travel log kind of entertainment - beware. The cover may give a hint to some that this is more like a journey `to hell and back', but that's putting it lightly. SamSara is not only a page-turner, but provides valuable insights into a very small part of mankind, those who do not fear Freedom but instead demand it as their individual right. I found this novel to be a very unique action thriller, which takes place in a micro cosmos of one single person: Malcolm Clay. He takes the longest and most convoluted journey anyone could imagine. Malcolm is in my eyes a hero taking the terrible risk of traveling the uncharted regions of his own psyche, deep down to vast regions of fear and pain but also of brilliant revelations full of light and hope. SamSara portrays the struggles of a man searching for freedom from his puritanical up-bringing and the existential traumas of his youth. Again and again, he comes up against dead-ends and frightening reminders of images from his past. His dream sequences are wonderfully portrayed. One in particular comes to mind, about tigers and how a number of these dangerous animals invade a house, and professionals are called to exterminate them. But instead of killing them, the tigers are tranquillized, and one realizes that the animals are symbolic of the sometimes overwhelming demons within us, energies that have to be subdued and sometimes even separated so that we can slowly develop a relationship and come to terms with these integral aspects of ourselves as opposed to denying their existence and continuing to suffer in a host of neurotic or even psychotic ways. After the stage for this fine novel has been set, the pace really picks up: I had a hard time fumbling through the pages fast enough, and the ending really threw me. No, I won't even give you a hint. But, let me just say: It has nothing to do with the snake biting at its own tail - swallowing, perhaps, but certainly not biting! If I may quote some very clever personality whose name I have never known: "The beginning is in the end." In my opinion, the very essence of SamSara is about the transformation of images, and Mel Mathews is quite masterful in the way he moves readers through this process, building to high points of interest and excitement, before letting off, allowing the reader time to relax and enjoy a more normal flow of life as these old ghost are slowly transformed into vital companions. I found it rewarding and enlightening to accompany Malcolm during his metamorphose from a person haunted by his past, yet willing to gamble not only his worldly goods, but even his soul, to become the individually decisive and free man he longs to be.