A Philistine's Journal
 Wayne Turmel
 (Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
 2003 New Leaf Books
 ISBN: 1930076134

An Average Guy Tackles the Classics.

In Wayne Turmel's preamble of an Introduction I kept wondering why he had ever quit standup comedy -- you'll find out in our Interview!

He has an uproarious way with words, an irreverent & insightful way of looking at life. Laughing about the Classics had never occurred to me, having been ineluctably submerged by only a fraction of them during my years at “finishing school.”

Well, Wayne has a classic of his own! I was informed & entertained, & amazingly, seduced into cracking open three of those works he spotlights -- Bret Harte for one.

That his roots are Canadian & mine British, gives us a kind of mutual sense of humor. Being a self-proclaimed wimp & liberal, Wayne has read some of the most enduring & hellatiously violent & archly chauvinistic literature, & that makes me want to pin a medal on him. Would that the rest of us take the time to tinker with our thinkers.

Given that I'm am an aged feral blood'n'guts catamount, I was wondering how I'd ever enjoy reading some guy's take on all those Dead White Guys' writings. Boy, did I under-estimate Wayne Turmel's sense of humor!

Many a true word is writ in jest in this modest little book, & I'm the more proud of this “middle-brow” fellow for including portions of each author's work & adding his modernday connections & philosophies.

Wayne ably tackles:
Epictetus
Cicero
Homer
Plutarch
Lucretius
John Locke
Omar Khayyam
Michel de Montaigne
Francis Bacon
John Milton
Daniel Defoe
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bret Harte
Robert Browning
Henrik Ibsen
However, his questing mind ranges far & wide & brings humor, modern connections & insights into a dusty old library.

Eminently readable, making those Classics actually relevant & accessible. Very well done!

He also feels quite lonely in his quest among the Classics & welcomes other readers at his website: www.achismarketing.com

I hope his book turns on many, many readers to the Classics!

Do catch my Interview with this erstwhile comic & nearly-fledged Classic Reader!
(08/24/03)

Rebecca