American Trickster Review
From the very beginning, I kept sensing that the author had
an axe to grind. This book reads like a jilted lover, still in love, but at the
angry and vindictive stage. What is the author so butt-hurt over? I hoped I
would find out as I read.
I quickly became tired of the words “liar,’ “hoax,” “cult,”
and “manipulative.” The writing teacher Brenda Ueland taught that if you want
your reader to either love or hate your character, you present the facts and
descriptions, and let the reader come to their own conclusion. I wasn’t allowed
any space to form my opinion. The book is a constant barrage of anything
negative related to the books, teachings, or life of Carlos Castaneda.
The almost cliché litany of accusations ran the usual
gambit:
-Carlos was a product of incest (Was that his fault?)
-Carlos was secretly gay (Is that a bad thing?)
-Carlos’ follower has a Nazi connection because her parents
were German (What’s a good smear without Nazis?!)
-Carlos had his follower Amy Wallace murdered (From the
grave?)
-Carlos had low self-esteem (Strange for such a powerful
sorcerer?)
That’s just a predictable taste. I literally laughed out
loud at these and others.
Of course, if you don’t agree with the author, and you are
someone who came to your own conclusion about Don Juan, Carlos, the books, and
the teachings, you get labeled “Juanists,” the first time I ever heard that.
Using quotes and opinions from a cult enforcer and Castaneda-hater,
Richard DeMille, who just so happened to have kidnapped a woman for his cult leader
L Ron Hubbard, and “a report from an important if highly unreliable source,” the
author relinquishes any and all dignity and integrity, citing anyone who has something
negative to say about Castaneda.
Even his “friend,” Amy Wallace, didn’t have her whole story
presented and the author can now put his name on the list of yet another man
who used her. Read her book for a more balanced and insightful story of her and
Castaneda.
Near the end I got my questions answered. Not about Carlos,
I came to my own conclusion and did my own research years ago. The vast
majority of the information has been out there for decades. I’m talking about
the author, a person who titled one of his books A Separate Reality. Hmm,
trying to ride Carlos Castaneda’s coattails using the same name for your own
book? No, that would be way too obvious.
The author admits “The story of my manuscripts path to
publication may, someday, make an interesting footnote to the Castaneda story.
It’s not time to tell it in full.”
Yet on page 477 he writes: “Mystery: a plot device in the
books. Something is always being held back, not yet revealed. Secrets, in
real-world fictions of cults: tools for keeping followers hooked.”
Plain and simple to me, but I’ll let you come to your own
conclusion, unlike Mr. Marshall.
If you are looking for a few tidbits of Carlos Castaneda’s
biography and personal history, this book has a few for you. If you are looking
to read about heaps of crap piled on Carlos Castaneda, this book has it in
spades!
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