Mutant Message Down Under
by Marlo Morgan
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Description
Mutant Message Down Under is the fictional account of an American woman's spiritual odyssey through outback Australia. An underground bestseller in its original self-published edition, Marlo Morgan's powerful tale of challenge and endurance has a message for us all. Summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aborigines to accompany them on walkabout, the woman makes a four-month-long journey and learns how they thrive in natural harmony with the plants and animals that exist in the rugged lands show more of Australia's bush. From the first day of her adventure, Morgan is challenged by the physical requirements of the journey-she faces daily tests of her endurance, challenges that ultimately contribute to her personal transformation. By traveling with this extraordinary community, Morgan becomes a witness to their essential way of being in a world based on the ancient wisdom and philosophy of a culture that is more than 50,000 years old. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
mene The spiritual practices the American author Marlo Morgan attributes to the Aboriginals in her fictional book "Mutant message down under" are actually a lot more like the world view of the Native Americans. Morgan's description of the Aboriginals is incorrect.
If you liked Morgan's book for the spirituality, I recommend reading "The wisdom of the Native Americans". I wouldn't recommend it the other way around.
mene Morgan's description of the Aboriginals is incorrect, but if you liked Morgan's book for the walking without any modern attributes (Auel's books take place in the European Prehistoric period), I recommend reading the "Clan of the Cave Bear" series, especially the second and fourth book, in which the main characters do a lot of walking (but I suggest starting the Clan of the Cave Bear series with book 1).
I wouldn't recommend it the other way around.
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan
mene If the environmental message in "Mutant message down under" resonated with you and you want to do something yourself, but are not sure where to start, "No impact man" can give you a lot of ideas.
Member Reviews
I first read this in an edition that claimed it actually happened; and that she was a Ph.D., inferred she was a doctor and an anthropologist. The stories about it all being made up came out after I had finished the book, and made me feel like I had been scammed. Since then she has had a lot of anger from Aboriginals in Australia who deeply resent her misrepresentation of them and their beliefs and way of life. She seems totally uncaring of the truth, of respecting the people she writes about, and apparently, she's made a mint and a career from this book. I reread it for a book discussion group, but felt real anger and sadness while doing so. I love fiction, but think there should be some element of truth, truthfulness, honesty in show more fiction. We'll probably have a pretty hot discussion in our reading group over this book and its author! show less
When this book was originally published in 1991 it was promoted as nonfiction and in the foreword the author says that the story the reader is about to discover is a true account of what happened to her in Australia. Years later however the book was republished as fiction and there are a few websites that post a wide variety of information intended to prove that the account is in fact fictitious. I have read both the book and the articles protesting it, as well as the account of the statement Ms. Morgan's made to the representatives of an Australian Aboriginal association acknowledging that her book is a work of fiction, and find that more than anything this whole situation makes me sad and disappointed. If what Ms. Morgan writes about show more really happened then why are people so determined to discredit her and her book? And if her story is fiction then why did she make such an effort to make people believe that it's not? Why apologize to the Aboriginal representatives if there's nothing to apologize for? And if there is something to apologize for then why shrug it off and continue as if nothing happened? Money seems to be the answer, and if financial gain is based on deception that makes me deeply disappointed in my fellow man.
On one hand I wanted to believe that the book is a memoir because the idea of a small society living in peace with themselves and the world around them, and not upsetting the natural balance of their environment is reassuring at a time when we keep hearing about climate change, whole species disappearing, pockets of land that has not been touched by humans becoming smaller and smaller. Now, I'm not a person who'll willingly move out of the city and live without electricity and plumbing to reduce my carbon footprint, but I will recycle and conserve water and power whenever I can, and I do believe that our actions affect the planet in a way that's ultimately detrimental to the length of time the human race will be able to enjoy themselves on Earth. After all, if one uses resources faster than they can be replenished sooner or later they will run out, and we have not yet figured out a way to make natural gas and oil or grow trees faster than it happens in nature.
On the other hand as I read the book some things struck me as odd. There were mentions of concepts and places that I wouldn't expect to hear from a people who were portrayed as a group who shun technology and all things modern because they see little value in them, such as mutation and outer space. The timeline seemed somewhat flexible at times, to say the least. The author seemed to go between needing an interpreter's help during the simplest of conversations and having complex discussions with members of the tribe without the interpreter present. And speaking of the members of the tribe, I did not understand why everybody had names that meant something when translated, such as Secret Keeper and Female Healer, and even Ms. Morgan was given a name fashioned in the same way, but the man who served as interpreter was known simply as Ooota? I was also put off by frequent talk about how the author was loosing weight on this walkabout, how pounds were literally melting off of her, and yet we have only relatively general depiction of her life with the tribe. I don't know about you, but I would much rather hear more about the daily life of a people so unlike my own than about how much thinner one American has gotten over the course of several months in the outback. There also seemed to be an undercurrent of "if you reject this account as truth then you're with those who say that people living without technology in the bush are lesser beings and that's just wrong", which grated on my nerves with its one-sidedness.
There was quite a bit of what can be referred to as "new age-y" talk about the importance of discovering and developing our own unique gifts, about how all humans are linked to each other, about us covering up the fundamental essense of life by figurative gravies and frostings, honoring animals' purpose by hunting them for food, how every experience is a lesson to be learned and if we don't learn it then we're presented with the same lesson again, etc. In some things the author completely lost me, in others I agreed with her because ultimately there is tremendous personal value in actively pursuing areas in which one is talented, and being aware of our impact on the world has value for all mankind.
Last but not least let's talk about writing. It is a book after all, regardless of whether it's a novel or a memoir. The writing was pretty consistent with what I'd expect from a first novel by a person with no literary aspirations, although it was polished by the Harper Collins team of experts and therefore is generally smoother reading than some independently-published books I've seen over the last year. There was a lot of telling instead of showing and I would have appreciated more scenes depicting the events of the months of the walkabout instead of the simple mentions that things happened and people exist. The author says that the particulars were omitted to protect the privacy of the people, but with everything I've read after finishing the book I can't help but think that it's just a copout.
I'm glad that I've read this book, if nothing else it made me think about the world and my place in it while I was reading and about people's goals and intentions when I finished it. show less
On one hand I wanted to believe that the book is a memoir because the idea of a small society living in peace with themselves and the world around them, and not upsetting the natural balance of their environment is reassuring at a time when we keep hearing about climate change, whole species disappearing, pockets of land that has not been touched by humans becoming smaller and smaller. Now, I'm not a person who'll willingly move out of the city and live without electricity and plumbing to reduce my carbon footprint, but I will recycle and conserve water and power whenever I can, and I do believe that our actions affect the planet in a way that's ultimately detrimental to the length of time the human race will be able to enjoy themselves on Earth. After all, if one uses resources faster than they can be replenished sooner or later they will run out, and we have not yet figured out a way to make natural gas and oil or grow trees faster than it happens in nature.
On the other hand as I read the book some things struck me as odd. There were mentions of concepts and places that I wouldn't expect to hear from a people who were portrayed as a group who shun technology and all things modern because they see little value in them, such as mutation and outer space. The timeline seemed somewhat flexible at times, to say the least. The author seemed to go between needing an interpreter's help during the simplest of conversations and having complex discussions with members of the tribe without the interpreter present. And speaking of the members of the tribe, I did not understand why everybody had names that meant something when translated, such as Secret Keeper and Female Healer, and even Ms. Morgan was given a name fashioned in the same way, but the man who served as interpreter was known simply as Ooota? I was also put off by frequent talk about how the author was loosing weight on this walkabout, how pounds were literally melting off of her, and yet we have only relatively general depiction of her life with the tribe. I don't know about you, but I would much rather hear more about the daily life of a people so unlike my own than about how much thinner one American has gotten over the course of several months in the outback. There also seemed to be an undercurrent of "if you reject this account as truth then you're with those who say that people living without technology in the bush are lesser beings and that's just wrong", which grated on my nerves with its one-sidedness.
There was quite a bit of what can be referred to as "new age-y" talk about the importance of discovering and developing our own unique gifts, about how all humans are linked to each other, about us covering up the fundamental essense of life by figurative gravies and frostings, honoring animals' purpose by hunting them for food, how every experience is a lesson to be learned and if we don't learn it then we're presented with the same lesson again, etc. In some things the author completely lost me, in others I agreed with her because ultimately there is tremendous personal value in actively pursuing areas in which one is talented, and being aware of our impact on the world has value for all mankind.
Last but not least let's talk about writing. It is a book after all, regardless of whether it's a novel or a memoir. The writing was pretty consistent with what I'd expect from a first novel by a person with no literary aspirations, although it was polished by the Harper Collins team of experts and therefore is generally smoother reading than some independently-published books I've seen over the last year. There was a lot of telling instead of showing and I would have appreciated more scenes depicting the events of the months of the walkabout instead of the simple mentions that things happened and people exist. The author says that the particulars were omitted to protect the privacy of the people, but with everything I've read after finishing the book I can't help but think that it's just a copout.
I'm glad that I've read this book, if nothing else it made me think about the world and my place in it while I was reading and about people's goals and intentions when I finished it. show less
I read this in high school and found it fascinating, but I've since learned that the author made it all up. When confronted by indigenous Australians, Morgan admitted publicly that she faked the whole thing. If she had marketed it as fiction, that would be one thing (still highly inaccurate, of course), but faking it it really unethical and an insult to real Australian Aboriginal groups. Shame on you, Marlo Morgan!
I read this knowing it was controversial, but decided to read it first and then read about it.... As a novelisation of going native with the Aboringines in the outback, it was gripping and moving - but in the same way as all those Carlos Castaneda books I read many years ago, it was surely too good to be true.
At least, in the edition I read, the author's foreword admitted it was now published as a novel, but it appears that there is a lot of confusion over whether she actually spent any time with the Aborigines in the bush at all, and my over-riding question was why would they choose her as their initiate and messenger? There seemed to be some confusion between Aboriginal and Native American traditions.
I enjoyed reading it - it was show more thought-provoking and entertaining, but must admit I read it in the same way as I loved watching Crocodile Dundee! I shall be looking out for a copy of Bruce Chatwin's 'Songlines' to get a more realistic perspective. show less
At least, in the edition I read, the author's foreword admitted it was now published as a novel, but it appears that there is a lot of confusion over whether she actually spent any time with the Aborigines in the bush at all, and my over-riding question was why would they choose her as their initiate and messenger? There seemed to be some confusion between Aboriginal and Native American traditions.
I enjoyed reading it - it was show more thought-provoking and entertaining, but must admit I read it in the same way as I loved watching Crocodile Dundee! I shall be looking out for a copy of Bruce Chatwin's 'Songlines' to get a more realistic perspective. show less
Not sure what to make of this book. If it's true, or even partially true with some wishful embroidery on the part of the narrator as to how and why she came to be amongst the Aborigines, then it's a very interesting account of living with Australian Aborigines and gives some insights into the interaction of Aboriginal spirituality with the modern world. If it's completely made up, as another reviewer suggests, then it probably is rubbish and offensive.
A shameless slap in the face of both Aboriginal Australians and readers of the book. I read it before the truth about it was revealed. When I discovered that truth I threw the book in the rubbish bin where it belongs.
This is a fictional story, made up by the author and the version of the book I read said it was for real. I found it to be unbelievable at times. So finding out it was made up was reassuring. I lived in Australia for over 8 years and the impact of the "red dirt" and the aboriginals is very powerful. The feeling of the outback earth and exploring it caused me to fell very grounded.
I believe there are messages for us from worlds we can't see and we can receive them in very unconventional ways. Respecting the Aboriginal culture is of utmost importance. While the author's message was good about trusting your self, the fact that she did not tell the truth about her writing from the beginning tells me she has some personal work and apologies show more to do. show less
I believe there are messages for us from worlds we can't see and we can receive them in very unconventional ways. Respecting the Aboriginal culture is of utmost importance. While the author's message was good about trusting your self, the fact that she did not tell the truth about her writing from the beginning tells me she has some personal work and apologies show more to do. show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Traumfänger
- Original title
- Mutant Message Down Under
- Original publication date
- 1990; 1996
- People/Characters*
- Marlo Morgan
- Important places
- Australia
- Epigraph
- Man did not we've the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
- American Chief Seattle - Dedication
- Dieses Buch ist meiner Mutter gewidmet, meinen Kindern Carri und Steve, meinem Schwiegersohn Greg, meinen Enkeln Sean Janning und Michael Lee und ganz besonders meinem Vater.
This book is dedicated to my daughter, Carri, my son-in-law, Greg, my grandsons, Sean Janning and Michael Lee, my granddaughter, Karlee Ann, and in memory of my parents and my son, Steven Montgomery Morgan. - First words*
- Man sollte meinen, es hätte irgendeine Warnung geben müssen, aber ich habe nichts dergleichen verspürt.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Sogar die Kunst der Illusion!
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I intend to spend the rest of my life using the knowledge I learned in the Outback. Everything! Even the magic of illusion!" - Blurbers*
- Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth; Mandino, Og; Williamson, Marianne
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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