"The Cafe on the Edge of the World"

(a Story About the Meaning of Life)

-by john strelecky

2020

Now translated into 42 languages! (though one might have been more than enough)

I probably shouldn't hate too hard on this book...especially when a small part of my ire is that the writer is reaping huge societal rewards, despite being largely talentless. Unlike (ahem) myself.

But this book is so badly written, that one must acknowledge the possibility that it's intended as a joke, a parody of self-help philosophy. Will people desperate for meaning believe anything, the writer wonders? The dialogue is horrible...just winky and wooden. If you met people who actually talked like this, you might smack them.

Let's assume, however, it's sincere! Its core message, that we all live unfulfilled, materialistic, fear-based lives, and that the solution is to find the activity that fills you with desire and purpose, and DO that, regardless of where it goes or what it pays...

Well, that's not patently wrong. In and of itself, it's reasonably wise.

The problem is strelecky's painful simplism. Like all self-help, the book is founded on the premise that the problem is in YOU. But the problems of our culture are not individual, they're systemic, and focusing on YOU won't mean a piss against that.

Strelecky then descends into drivel, such as "we each control our own destiny, and seemingly-magical coincidences happen for those who are deeply committed to their purpose". Well, no. Humyns are social creatures, YOU do not control your destiny. And anyone who understands statistics and probability knows that "magical-feeling" things happen to everyone, about once a month. If you start to believe those things have grander, deeper meaning, you're onboard the woo-woo train.

I can understand why this book was recommended to me, by someone who thought they'd found a deep insight into MY personality. Yes, there's a seed of truth there. But if this book affects you deeply...please go deeper!