Buddha, volumes 1-8

Buddha volumes 1 through 8 by Osamu Tezuka, 2,986 pages

Buddha is a manga drawn by Osamu Tezuka and is an interpretation of the life of Gautama Buddha. The story takes place predictably in ancient India, and follows the intertwined lives of several characters as they face the challenges of everyday life such as warfare, famine, drought, and the injustices of the caste system they are born into. From slaves to princes, and even bandits these people are all brought together by the birth of prince Sidhartha, who upset with life sets off on a life changing journey. During his travels he becomes enlightened and attempts to end peoples suffering through his teachings which are still widely practiced today.

I first saw this series while I was shelving graphic novels and thought it looked kind of interesting. After reading it I can say that I definitely enjoyed this series. Tezuka's interpretation of Buddha is great, he takes a serious subject and balances it with his own broad sense of humor from visual jokes to cultural references, and even going so far as to provide character commentary on himself and his books.      

Tantric Coconuts

Tantric Coconuts by Greg Kincaid     70 of 304 pages       

I’ve enjoyed Greg Kincaid’s previous three novels (A Dog Named Christmas, Christmas with Tucker, and A Christmas Home) so I was excited to see that he had a new book coming out.

In rural Kansas, Ted Day is a divorced, workaholic lawyer. One of his grandfather’s last wishes was that he take a vacation. One of the things that Grandpa left him was an old silver and black Winnebago 32RQ Chieftain. After Grandpa’s funeral, he packs with the RV and his dog, Argo, and sets out.

At the same time on the Lakota Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, free spirit Angel Two Sparrow is trying to figure out what to do next. She wants to become a Native-American Spiritual Consultant. Exactly how she’s going to do this is shady, but she has a business plan.  Her aunt Lilly gave her Bertha the Bookmobile, equally as decrepit as Ted’s Winnebago that she had converted into her home. Now that Aunt Lilly was in Pierre at the South Dakota Women’s Prison and no longer needs Bertha, Angel decides that she will go in search of clients for her new business. She paints her business card on one side and on the other side, her logo.  She loads up with supplies and Aunt Lilly’s half-wolf/half-dog, No Barks, and sets out.

Somewhere in New Mexico in front of the Perfect Prairie RV Park, the two vehicles collide. Literally.

Cute, huh?  The back cover copy promises a “quirky spiritual journey.” I like spiritual journeys; I was thinking Joan Brady’s God on a Harley and its sequel Joyride. But that’s as far as it goes.

By the time I got to page 70, where I gave up, the Ted and Angel were caricatures of a thousand characters before them. I felt like I was being preached at after Ted decided he want to give Angel’s way a try, and I was bored. To me there was no reason to turn the page; no compelling plot line, no wondering what’s going to happen next. PLUS what really closed the book for me was the footnotes.

Sorry, Greg, you missed the boat on this one. I give this book one out of five stars.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.