Spiritual but in Need of a Bit More Spirited

James writes angelically and touches and delves into major religions and their beliefs as in making sense of an at times senseless existence. The beginning captivated me and in fact throughout I was smitten with a voice sure and deep. As I progressed I found what was lacking was levity as counterpoint and relief. I, however, dug on the nuggets of wisdom, this aphorism a case in point: "Seek yourself in a deep question or fulfill yourself in ruin." Pithy stuff. And to that I'd like to counter: Light is deep. And intimacy is fleeting and enjoyed too rarely as in the smile between strangers or the blast of eye contact with the harried cashier while thanking her by name read on her tag and so on. And I also loved the Hemingway "Clean, Well-Lighted Place" references to nada it's all a nada riffing. My criticism again is that there's little levity to break up the monotony of the heavy solipsisms and machine-gunning of maxims, since there is much depth and capital element LIFE in levity. If James could learn to lighten up on occasion we'd be all the more game to venture down rabbit holes of riddles and truisms, philosophies and literary and religious references ... in spades, and come out the other side the more sublime for it. In bringing us down strive to bring us up for again in levity there is depth and joy. The Christian cross poem at the end was tacked on and demeaned the (over)arching rigor of this splendid rainbow of a book.