Eularee Smith
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Entries in Aboriginals. The Real People (1)

Friday
Oct052012

Mutant Message Down Under

Mutant Message Down Under

Marlo Morgan

Harper Collins

iSBN: 0-06-017192-8

Fiction

At the end of a frustrating day, have you ever wanted to walk out the door and just keep walking? Marlo Morgan had the experience in her book Mutant Message Down Under.

Thinking she was being honored for her work, Morgan accepts an invitation to what she assumes will be a banquet, a few speeches, an award and a humble acceptance. Instead she finds herself on a walkabout with The Real People, native Aboriginals. Stripped down to little more than minimal body cover and no shoes, she begins a journey of a lifetime in this work of fiction.

The culture shock begins with taking little to nothing with her on the walkabout and finding everything she needed in the Outback. A vision of connections between human and environment unfolds through the wisdom of her Aboriginal companions on this trip through the seemingly endless hostile territory. Miraculously, they find water in the drought conditions, plants and meat in the desolate conditions and a beauty in a desert that seems void of life. This is the message she is directed to carry back with her.

Mutant refers to those who are not of the Aboriginal culture, including Morgan. Her welcoming invitation to listen and learn the vision of the Real People is at once overwhelming and all consuming. The changes in her physical body as well as her way of thinking are peeled away to reveal the core of humanity and the intrical part it plays in the scheme of the planet.

Unable to tell her family or friends the reason for her sudden disappearance, she finds herself a willing, if not eager participant in this rite of passage. Her Mutant body defies the ability to survive with swollen, calloused feet, her burned skin peels only to burn and peel again and a lean diet of whatever food crosses their path. Her companions have names that descirbe their talents, Story Teller, Medicine Man, Memory Keeper, Peace Maker and Kin to Birds. They share their wisdom with Morgan signalling their trust and honor for this Mutant woman and their mission to spread the message of true beingness.

There are Mutants on the edge of regaining their individual spirit of true beingness. With enough focus, there is time to reverse the destruction on the planet, but we can no longer help you. Our time is up. Already the rain pattern has been changed, the heat is increased, and we have seen years of plant and animal reproduction lessened. We can no longer procide huamn forms for spirits to inhabit because there will soon be no water or food left here in the desert.  Elder

Marlo realizes she has been chosen as the messenger. Her journey, conclusions and eventual return to the Mutant world are a tribute to the human spirit. Well written, a good mix of truth woven in words of fiction, Morgan does a superb job of spreading the message to the rest of us Mutants. You won't want to walk away from this book.

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats