Sati

by Christopher Pike

The first adult novel from a bestselling author of young adult fiction. Michael picks up a young hitch-hiker in the Arizona desert, bringing her home and letting her sleep on his couch. The next day, she talks about being God--and strange things begin to happen to everyone coming in contact with her.. . .

--SATI-- — I once knew this girl who thought she was God. — She didn't give sight to the blind — or raise the dead. She didn't even teach anything, — not really, and she never — told me anything I probably didn't already know. — --SATI-- — On the other hand, she didn't expect — to be worshipped, nor did she ask for money.

Given her high opinion of herself,

some might call that a miracle.

--SATI--

I don't know, maybe she was God. Her name was Sati

and she had blonde hair and blue eyes.

--SATI--

For all who meet her, Sati will change everything.

Sati may change everything for you.

"Christopher Pike, the author of the bestselling young adult novel Chain Letter, takes an unusual approach. His mysterious, enlightened heroine, Sati, claiming that she is God, changes forever the lives of the people around her... [who learn] by her example about love, compassion, acceptance, and the beauty of life. Pike has the ability to tell a good story with conviction and clarity." --ALA Booklist

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Adult Fiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Christopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is perfect after a big change in one's life, a change that leaves you lost, confused, and unsettled in your own skin. Sati was divine when I first read it (at 16) and now, a decade later, it continues to calm and direct me. Ten years and I still get lost on the same spiritual path. The message, of course, remains the same. It always has, but we humans have short memories. The great teachers of the world have never wavered. The book draws from the spiritual principles of all the glorious religions on Earth. Nothing in the external world can bring you peace or happiness. Not money, not even loved ones. It can only come from inside of you. No one else can help you. No one else can eliminate that anguish. The concept of finding your own peace is appealing when life is good. When life is bad, words become a burden, the thought of having to rely on yourself to get it together is even more frightening. But this is when you are truly tested. Will you clutch to the old ways of handling things? Relying on others? Or will you use the lessons of Sati, among others, and find peace and silence within yourself?

Anyway, I love this book. It reminds me that we all need a Spiritual Teacher/some guidance every now and then. Sati is one of mine.

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Preachy. I love me some Christopher Pike and re-read his stuff on the regular. Any reader of his work knows how spiritual it can get, even in the midst of some bizarre horror plot line. Sati seems like it might have been his labor of love, and Pike's style is still distinct. Yet it is slow to the point of boring (though blessedly short) and vague (almost as if he didn't want to get that far into the subject matter). In my opinion, this resulted in a novel that skirted the issues he REALLY wanted to write about; a ghost of his brainchild. Dumbed-down, perhaps, to mollify his publishers. Of course, if one wanted a religious text, one could just as easily pick one off the shelf. I wouldn't even classify this as an "adult" book, as it is simple enough for the YA set, with a lot less sex and violence than his other books. If I were writing a Cliff's Notes, it might go something like this: "Sati arrives. People are entranced but don't believe she is God. Abbreviated character development. She speaks in holy riddles. Unsatisfying ending. No reader discussion." The things I did like about the novel were the Pike-isms. His simple, unique way of describing people in a dated way that still holds up, for some reason. It's oddly effective. California. A quick read. Worth it for fans, but I'll go back to clutching my tattered copy of Remember Me.

[Preeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed in 2004.]

I would put this book on the same level as Siddhartha. It explores religion without really calling it religion, without it really being religion. Sati is a simple, blonde, blue-eyed woman who says she is God and that she has come to play in her world.

She doesn't want to teach, she doesn't want to have a following per se, but all she wants is for people to be happy. We exist to increase her joy, which is already infinite.

Whether or not she is God, her message is simple: through inner silence, we can achieve joy.

The book is a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist thought. It's very simple, very easy to read, but I guarantee it will affect you profoundly.

[Sarah Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read it several times over the years and every time I get something different out of it. And every time I cry at the end.

[Jill Furedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I unboxed a bunch of old Pike and LJ Smith books from my teenage years and thought...I should reread these and see if they are still any good. Not that they would have expired and gone bad with age, but my opinion of them could have. I saw the republished Thirst and Remember Me but finally picked up the newly rereleased Sati to begin with. It's described as one of Pike's adult novels, which makes sense when most teenage books feature teenagers, not divorcees. But nothing in it was particularly "adult" material.
The young woman who claims to be God and who espouses the belief that humans are here to be happy is an interesting character...you can't help but look for holes in her story and facade, as does the main character. And the group around her, eventually left with nothing but questions, memories and cookies, are an appropriately diverse group for her to show her ability to reach out to everyone. Was she God or not? Nothing is definitively answered, but does it matter? Firstly, it's fiction...but secondly, regardless of who she was, she made an impact of the people she encountered, whether they believed or doubted. And she seems to have helped them inch closer to their happiness either way as well, which was her goal. If this book is going to end up in the young adult section, at least they will have something spiritual to ponder and question instead of just being entertained by paranormal romances.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sati is a beautiful, spiritual book, and I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially those starting out on their spiritual paths. I found this book to be perfect, but my experience of reading it might have been more enjoyable a few years ago, when the spiritual principles presented in it were newer to me. Still, Sati serves as a good reminder of these principles, and on top of that, it made me feel very calm and connected, which is always a miracle.

[lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up grabbing Sati off the shelf, cos I haven't read it in a while and I knew I could put it down with no regrets if it didn't really catch my attention.

Of course, as always, it caught my attention and reminded me how much I love it, Christopher Pike, and the world in general.

It's one of those books that I can't reread all the time because it's slow-paced and character-driven and philosophical and I know it all like the back of my hand, but I still try to get through it once a year because it leaves me refreshed and ready to face the world. It's the only book that came with me every single semester of college for the same exact reason. (It's also the book I am most likely to buy copies of whenever I find it so I can give it to the people who matter.)

Anyway, I had a pretty shitty week, and then I read Sati, and now I feel a lot better. If you want to read it, I will loan you my (well-loved!) copy, as long as you swear on your life that you will return it. (Cos even though I have a spare copy, the spare is a signed first edition and therefore is for petting, not for reading.)

(review pulled from lj.)

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in middle school, Christopher Pike was the more mature version of R.L. Stine...only girls who enjoyed being scared out of their wits read his books. My sister had this book, and I remember reading it expecting another scary horror twist. This is not your normal Christopher Pike book. This is a spiritual novel, only shelved in young adult or horror because bookstores want Pike fans to be able to find all of his books in one place. When I was a little kid trying to read this, a great deal of it flew right over my head. Revisiting the novel now was a wonderful idea.

Having the time, I sat down and finished it in a matter of hours, but even if the amount of time someone spends reading it amounts to a handful of moments, the experience lasts. Pike is not saying anything about religion or spirituality that hasn't already been said, really, but he says it well and simply. In the end, you finish the book and feel pretty content...and how often can you say that?

[A.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few things stuck in my craw:

- Sati (the character) is not preachy, but the narrative more than makes up for it. This story, Pike's first "adults only" novel, is about as subtle as an after-school special.

- The reader is never really made to connect with Sati, and is never given a character to sympathize with. Sati is too perfect. "Ordinary" characters are too villainous. The villains are - well, you get the point.

- Clearly we are meant to believe that Sati is telling the absolute truth about being a god - the thought of her being a fraud, or simply crazy, is never given a decent chance; compare the novel K-PAX (or better yet, the film version) for an example of how this can be skillfully done. Again, subtlety is not Pike's strong point here.

[Geraldine O'Hagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book displays a lot of very dated attitudes to race and sexuality.

Also, it includes the sentence “This talk of delicate Dick times troubled me.” I can’t see any reason that needed to happen.

[Zina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like, the only reason I did read it was...guilty as charged because of its cover, I know I know.

But frankly the novel is a complete stereotype, the whole "a trucker dude hitchhikes a majestic lady in white which by the way has really long blond hair and turns out to be a goddess I mean dude what is this Joy Ride? no wait I think that's something else. Anyway wait I hated the most were those supposedly peaceful sessions where you had an out of mind experience oh and offcourse the mouth-watering cookies that she bakes...-___-, someones been having too much drinky drinky, okay that was rude lets just say overall that I did not like the book, its sad really to write a whole novel in a sacriligous kind of way almost.

In the end what do you think happens? NO YOU GUESSED IT! yes, nothing happens the "goddess" dies and he ends up burrying her in the desert but her body evaporates? I do not remember or wish to remember at all. Oh and just to add to the cheesiness in the end end he hitchhikes ANOTHER lady in white.....SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?

[Alexia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pike’s spiritual beliefs are present in all his books to varying degrees but this is *only* that.
The way he writes the black and gay friends is kind of clumsy and charming but then there’s a fat character later on and it’s all ‘i feel bad for this giant sad cow. She must eat all day’ etc. Whadda hell!!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

another excellent read by Christopher Pike. this one will stay with me.

[Stella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Litttttttle preachy for my taste. When I read Christopher Pike, I want murder, mystery and dumb teenagers.

[Warren Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... I really didn't see that one coming. A brief story told in fairly simple language, the way you would expect a writer of young adult fiction to write, even though this book was written for adults. I breezed through it in a couple of nights.

The book follows a truck driver named Mike who picks up a hitchhiker claiming to be God, and what follows is a lot of conversations between this woman and Mike and his friends and neighbors that describe a very refreshing version of an almighty being. Throughout the book I found myself so envious of the characters in the story, who get to be in the presence of this wise and loving deity, who get to ask her questions and get answers (however cryptic some of those answers may be).

Pike's God, Sati, is the God we all should be so lucky to have. Maybe she is the God we do have, when you subtract all of man's noise and interference with religious accounts and text.

[Starr Baumann]

This was my favorite book when I was a preteen. Although it has some insightful parts, I now know where my eating disorder came from. I think there's a new version, and I really hope it's been revised. It's kind of unbelievable what we have sat here and listened to people tell us about the world and ourselves all these years.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

Gave me Stargirl, Mary Poppins and The OA vibes in that there was a female character who knew a little too much about the world, had hints of magic about her and ends up fixing things before she goes. A little too sacrilegious for my liking but a quick read.

[Linda Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it first released. I remember how much I loved it. I haven't read it in years and I still remember it. That is the sign of a great book.

[Iris Alvino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book. I absolutely loved it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The universe wanted me to read Sati. I know this because my first encounter with the book came as I was sitting on the floor at the bookstore where I work, boxing up young adult novels, when it slid out of the sorting cube above me and conked me on the head. Since this was the hardcover release, not the paperback, it made for a more lasting first impression but it got my attention.

I remembered Christopher Pike from my teenage years, when he and R.L. Stine took turns creeping me out with their brand of teen-themed horror stories and like the VHS vs. Betamax format wars, Stine's prolific catalog made for great competition with Pike's smaller output but superior writing skills. Sorry Bob, I love you and you're a fine writer, but Pike's stuff just always had that extra touch that appealed to me more. That, and you never wrote anything like Sati.

Sati was unlike anything I'd ever read before. It's part mystery, part spiritual journey, and part gentle and introspective prodding. Light on philosophy, heavy on questions, and loaded with new takes on age-old questions, I find myself observing it differently on each reading. My first time through it was on the cusp of my 29th birthday. Thirty was a milestone, and it left me in a very painful position for personal reasons. Sati was the book I needed to read then.

Ten years later, much has changed. I'll be forty come October. But re-reading Sati brings the sort of comfort it's easy to get lost in. Doesn't hurt the main character and I share the same name, even though he's a truck driver and I still work for that bookstore. There were times when it seemed Sati was speaking more to me than to him, and I freely admit the book wouldn't have made the same impact if my parents had decided to name me anything but 'Michael'. Coincidence? Sure--'Michael' is one of the most common names in the Western hemisphere. I never had fewer than two other classmates with the same first name all through school. The book wasn't written for me, I just happened to have a name that resonated more for the reading. I'll take that anyway.

Sati is fantasy. It belongs on the same shelves as David Eddings, Robert Jordan, and Terry Goodkind. It's just a fantasy more grounded in reality than your typical swords-and-sorcery epic. California isn't Middle Earth. People die from pneumonia, not arrows to the torso. It doesn't matter. The best fantasy still makes us think, makes us wonder, and makes us feel like kids again with our imagination all fired up. Such is the power of Sati, which is a fantasy designed around the idea of a higher power/consciousness/creator that routinely travels back to this planet to interact with those he/she has created in order to obtain even more infinite bliss and happiness.

Whether Sati truly is "God" as she claims (or whether or not we believe in her or the concept of any 'God') is irrelevant. Michael's final statement of the book is the true point for meditation and discussion. Lives change, life goes on, and the world looks similar to the way it did before she arrived. All that has changed is a reminder that we're all in this together, and whether a God created us or not doesn't matter. We're human, we all know we have this one life, and we're all happier when we live fully in the present instead of dwelling on the past or fretting over the future. Arguing over whether the messenger is divine or mortal is to miss the point of the message: be, do, love, and take pleasure in what truly brings you happiness, but not to the exclusion of helping those who need your assistance. Simple message, simple delivery, simple story, and probably the best thing Christopher Pike will ever write. I've had plenty of books fall on me over the course of my life, but this is the only time I was honestly happy to have experienced it. Thanks, Universe!

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started a re-reading project earlier this year of books that make me feel most like myself. I’m not sure when or how Sati first fell into my hands. I read a lot of Christopher Pike growing up, mostly acquired from friends of my mom’s who loved garage saling and brought me boxes and boxes of books. Sati may have come from one of those as well–-certainly, my reading it was a natural offshoot of my love for his novels-–but I’m just not sure. My copy was hardcover and secondhand, but it didn’t look anything like the rest of my Pike books.

To my continued dismay, my boyfriend at the time borrowed it and then lost it. He was a raging atheist who, having been raised a strict Christian, knew more about religion than most people (ironically, like most of the atheists I know). I was an uncertain nothing-in-particular who believed in just about everything as long as it didn’t come from a church, and I thought he might like a different perspective. I got a new copy when it was re-printed, but I’m still mourning the loss of the original; I’m sure if his mother ever found it, she set it on fire.

Michael Winters is a long-distance truck driver in the middle of a divorce. One night in the desert on his way home from hauling freight, he picks up a hitchhiker. Sati is young and blonde, and she thinks she’s God. She starts holding meetings starting with Michael’s small circle of friends. He’s pretty sure she isn’t God, but there is something about her. Sati has a gravity that attracts and soothes; she affects everyone who meets her, and her primary message is one of love.

I love pretty much everything about this book. The characters are flawed and sympathetic and human, and the narrative is straightforward and almost spare given some of the difficult concepts in it. The themes are similar to ones that run throughout a lot of Pike’s fiction, which is one of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to it. They feel real to me like nothing I’ve ever heard in a church has. I’ve read some criticism that the ideas in Sati aren’t particularly original, but I have to disagree. I’ve never read another book like this, that directly addresses spiritual questions, with flavors of Christianity and Hinduism and the new age, without being strictly denominational. This is not a Christian book; it’s not even really a religious book, but it is profoundly spiritual.

My family wasn’t especially church-going, but we were believers: in God, in ghosts, in intuition. This novel is where I got some of my first ideas about religion. Like Dandelion Wine, it showed me that there was another way to live. That there was nothing to be gained by being miserable all the time, and that it was possible that the universe just wanted me to be happy, not in a hedonistic way, but in a real way. It was life-changing for me because Sati’s ideas are simple and universal, and they feel true–-but she doesn’t ask for belief, or for anything else. If she isn’t God, she’s everything I’d like to think God stands for. I like to think it kept me open-minded; I’m certain that it’s one of the books that shaped me into the person I am now.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say, I'm into Hindu/Buddhist/New Age-y concepts and that kind of stuff. Granted, Sati doesn't really tell us anything new, but the things she does tell us, are worth retelling.


"Why be optimistic about the future? Why be pessimistic? Why not see things as they are? The present is always filled with joy, and love...If you were to live fully in the moment for only a moment, the stress and strain of your entire life would be washed away."

“Enjoy your life. No curse hangs over you, nor did it ever. No devil chases after your soul."

“Don't simply knock and wait for the door to be opened. Go look for the keys. Some fit the lock better than others.”

“There comes a time for everybody when words and reasons can become such a great weariness.”

“A true teacher would never tell you what to do. But he would give you the knowledge with which you could decide what would be best for you to do.”


Yes, I practically copy-pasted the already existing quotes under Sati in GR. Sorry about that.

At times, this style of writing reminded me of Paulo Coelho, but that may just be a coincidence. I read that Christopher Pike is somehow popular the way R.L. Stine is popular, and that he doesn't really have a great writing style, he just makes good stories, which is good enough for me. I've only read one other book of his, something about a teenage time traveller, and it was pretty interesting. I wouldn't mind picking up another book of his to pass the time.

Anyway, I rate this 4.5 stars, because reading it raised the hairs on my arms, and I liked it, and I felt immense peace, which is something very important to me.

[d4 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A truck driver picks up a beautiful young woman named Sati who claims to be God. She teaches the virtue of inner silence and seeking happiness and joy for oneself. Taking the best traits of religion, and discarding the less favorable ones,--such as the concept of Hell--the book presents a view of God that is easier to want to accept than many traditional religions, but remains just as unclear in its answers. It's an interesting premise, but despite being Christopher Pike's first adult fiction, it still reads like a YA novel.

[Kathy (Kindle-aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went through a Christopher Pike phase in middle school and high school. This one, however, was very different from the teens being chased by a murderer/monster, etc.

It deals with concepts of religion and faith, and for a jaded Catholic school kid, it was just what I was looking for. I can't say that it changed my world or beliefs or anything like that, but I appreciated reading someone else's take on religion that was not preachy or condescending.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deviated greatly from the norm of Pike's typical novels, exploring themes of religion and life and death rather than just life and death. It explores the metaphysical, and it a book meant, I believe, to make the reader contemplate the questions it raises more than it intends to entertain - though it certainly does do that as well.

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in college and LOVED it at the time. Many years later, it occurred to me that this book was actually Christopher Pike's attempt to write like Richard Bach, whose books I hate. So perhaps I'd hate this if I tried to read it again, who knows? The three stars reflects how I felt about the book at the time, tempered with a tiny bit of present-day skepticism. I should read this again.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember loving this book when I was a kid (I mean, I was a devoted Pike fan anyway, but this one was near the top for me), so when I saw this beautifully repackaged version, I figured I'd be picking it up sometime...Borders had it today for 50¢!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved The OA you should read this, and if you loved this you should watch The OA. You’re welcome. 😉

[Krista Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading Pike's YA murder mysteries, so this read was quite different. The story explores a woman who claims to be God, which is odd in and of itself. Sati holds meetings throughout the novel where the reader is exposed to Mike, the MC, and a decent-sized cast of other characters, all enthralled by what she has to say for herself while many of those same characters challenging her. This is not a "just accept what she says, it must be true" as Mike and a majority of the characters carry much doubt. Once she starts to explain herself, you realize there is more going on here. Sati wants everyone to know what it means to experience the 'inner self'. The Reverend and the land lady (I believe), both Christians, use scripture to challenge Sati. This part stood out to me as a Christian as Pike delicately handles those challenges, not by degrading the Bible but by highlighting its truths, at least some of the time. Around half of what Sati says stems from a New Age/ Eastern philosophy belief system, which contradicts who God is in some ways, but in others seems right on target. Essentially, the story delves deeply into the question of who God is. Mike seems to reflect the author's own struggle to discover the Truth. An interesting read with a style of writing that has always been incredible--Pike finding ways to make magical the simplest of everyday things. I did not agree with the concept and with most of the reasoning (there is no hell, for instance), but for fiction, for striving to understand what is real and who God is, it made for an interesting read.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading the same book at different points in your life really makes it a completely different book. I read this around 15/16 years old and the amount of sticky notes I had as tabs marking different phrases was out of control. I remember thinking it was amazing and profound and I just finally re-read it as a 29 year old and boy is it not what I remember. I feel like this book probably helped shape my view of religion and spirituality in a deeper way than I realized, but for the most part I found this go around to be pretty disappointing and pretentious if we're being blunt. I like the messages Sati delivers about caring for each other, finding inner peace, being happy, etc. but I do have some problems with the book itself.
He writes about women in such an awful way - be it negative or positive - and creeps me out when he talks about Mike's attraction to Sati while simultaneously having her fill a mom void in his life. He has Sati give a lot of very vague answers and advice, but to me, it comes off not in a way that's deep or insightful, but in a way that feels cliche and pretentious at the same time. I know this book is from the 80s so maybe at the time it would have been a lot more impactful, but I do feel like this should be considered a YA book that's just different from his usual style and not an adult novel. Overall, it just still feels like a very juvenile novel trying to be mature and insightful but misses the mark for me as an adult.