Book Review: The Gift of Originality by Justine Hart

Justine Hart has created the ideal text book for those people who want to take more than a hurried glance at where they stand in today's world. You are gently but firmly encouraged to take a good look at yourself and your place in life; having done that, suggestions are made for taking action and making change.

The writer has the gift of humour, which she uses to illustrate different situations. She also has a penetrating understanding of today's world, both the positive and negative issues. With no hint of despondency in her words, Justine Hart makes some very clear statements about the society we live in: which we have created, hoping to better ourselves. She is also amazingly practical, which I love.

Some of Justine's words which I most enjoyed and appreciated are:

'Just imagine a world with only priests and prophets, novices and nuns, ministers and saints and no one to attend to sanitation!'

'You have helped to create the day's events; your participation will have made a difference.'

'Do not immediately make hasty assumptions on a particular mood and manner.'

'People seem to be working harder and longer, but are they creating something better?'

'It seems possible that soon we could be enmeshed (and floundering) into a fluctuating economy that dictates little personal thought and much spending of money! Is this not happening already?'

'Do we not all appreciate a clean house and delicious meal, so nice to come home to?'

'Consider for instance the tiny invisible sparks and symbols of enthusiasm, excitement and laughter. They are very contagious and will zip, sparkle and spread through the air very easily and quickly.'

'It feels as though we have our freedom and independence, but do we really have full control of this ever expanding monetary need? Could this be another time of servitude and dominance?'

'There are more concerns; is all this easily bought merchandise and produce conducive to our good health? There is the frightening possibility that everything that we need to buy will soon be doused and doctored with chemicals, preservatives and colorants. We are only just discovering the many harmful effects.'

Justine illustrates many of her points with entertaining yet serious anecdotes. We have the story about anger going down the line: it starts with the boss in his office and ends with the poor cat getting a rough time. There is the tale about missed opportunity and the different coloured boxes tied with different coloured ribbons.

There is the mandatory mobile mania: (what a grand piece of alliteration) We will shop, eat, drink, arrange for a plumber, check the emails, take a conference call and sell a new project all in the blink of an eye. Or was it our lunch break?

The Gift of Originality is an invaluable text book suited to many people. Whether you question your role in today's world or whether you wish to argue with some of Justine's points, The Gift of Originality makes an exciting and intelligent read.

© Ingrid M. Smith

Publication of this review includes In Print (Feb 2014 edition) and amazon.com book reviews.