Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 19, 1993 TAG: 9309190213
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by KENNETH LOCKE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
He's baaaaaack.
That Best Selling Author, Master of the Emotional Essay, Writer of Short Paragraphs with Deep Meanings and onetime Unitarian Minister, Robert Fulghum, has once again provided us with his brand of pop-psychology, wit, wisdom, old-fashioned common sense, good humor and spiritual(ism) on the side.
Like him or not - and the nots had better keep quiet if they want to be accepted in polite, yuppie society _ Robert Fulghum is a fine writer and a sensitive man. He has mastered the art of the short essay and has probably done more to revive its popularity than any writer since Charles Lamb. "Maybe (Maybe Not)" is surely destined for the same glory and glamour as "All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten," "It Was on Fire When I lay Down on It" and "Uh-Oh."
Seriously though, "Maybe (Maybe Not)" is a fine book of well written essays dealing with a variety of human foibles and interests: what men really carry in their wallets, the value of poinsettias and musical chairs, the spiritual elements of ironing a shirt, how he would have lived in the middle ages, and so on.
This is the kind of book I like to read in bed just before dropping off, when I have a few extra minutes in the bathroom or when I am waiting on my wife. (Doubtless she reads it on those rare occasions she waits for me). Strongly recommended for students on their way back to school, readers who don't have time for a long book, and anyone who enjoys and is amused by the human condition.
- Kenneth Locke is a Radford pastor.
by CNB