Testimonial for the 'Farai the Guenon Monkey'

Praise for the book
'Farai the Guenon Monkey'
review by Dr Mark Hunter

Across the thousands of years, storytelling has held the highest of cultural functions: passing history, teaching, and guiding us in finding wisdom.

Story telling entertains, shapes culture, forges morals and ethics, connects people, inspires & motivates, and often determines the success of failure of a people.

The truly powerful stories use mythology and symbolism to awaken a sense of awe and wonder about the very nature of existence: “There are two ways to live your life: You can live as if nothing is a miracle, or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” – Einstein

When he loses his friend, the monkey, our hero returns to look at himself in the mirror. Looking there in the void he saw nothing but himself – Alone. This ‘void’ is the most treacherous, pernicious and frightful demon of all. He does not know yet that the ‘void’ is what helps us create our character. And it is this ‘character’ that saves us from the void.

Our young Hero’s father helps the boy on his journey by giving sage advice.

My greatest thanks go out to the author. This was entertaining, inspiring and wise. The symbolism is powerful – Speaking with universal archetypes, it reaches deep into the unconscious, speaks an ancient language spoken without words, and provokes an ancient infinite wisdom.

I recommend parents to read this story to their young ones. In this world of distractions, hunger games and TikTok, it is important to share quality time with the children of the village, and to prepare them for the Hero’s Journey.

Buy Farai the Guenon Monkey on Amazon

Joseph Campbell tells us that Myth is a song of the universe, being sung by a thousand different peoples and cultures.

People don’t just enjoy good stories, mythology and symbol, they need them as guideposts to live well.

True to the nature of good stories, this one, Farai the Guenon Monkey, entertains, teaches and inspires. It is written to charm both the adult and child – Making it a wonderful story to read to the young people. In the beginning we identify with the main character: he is often by himself until he befriends a little monkey. At last his life will be exciting, it will change, and it will teach responsibility to the young man.

Right away we see the mutual synergy that comes from intrapersonal relationships.

Now comes the Hero’s Journey: our young hero must solve riddles, trust himself and leap over dangerous canyons before the door closes. This is a dangerous place of duality. He must have faith in himself, the universe and be bold! As he makes this magic journey of a 1000 Hero’s who went before him, our young hero finds much magic, and his true character.

This is a very powerful story. I am old now. And I know well this young man’s journey. At times I reflected heavily upon its symbols, and at times felt some tears. We all must make the Hero’s Journey. Somehow the magic in the universe enables us to persist despite the odds. If we refuse the journey, all sorts of anxieties over-take us. We cannot refuse the calling.