Favorite lines from the book:
"People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face,
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror."
I was deeply touched by Gibran when I first read his poem in our English class in school, The Song of the Rain. It felt like every single word had a way of touching the soul, and warming the heart. I finally got around to reading The Prophet, which is said to be his masterpiece, one of the most beloved classics of our time, with more than 10 million copies sold and I finally realised why.
Every word is cadenced and vibrant with feeling, majestic rhythm. Every line is an art unto itself, a song, a hymn of the spirit. If there is a man who can read this book without hearing a singing in the heart as of a music born within, that man is indeed dead to life and truth.
Gibran has mastered poetic prose in this one.
His romantic style is at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, breaking away from the classical school.
It's a small book, and I finished it in one sitting. Recommended to anyone who has an appreciation for lyrical prose, and spiritual, inspirational fiction.
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