The Te of Piglet (1992)

Again I find myself reviewing a book I didn't like because for some reason I find it easier to say why I didn't like something, than what I enjoy about a book.

As other reviewers have said don't bother with this book, read the Tao of Pooh. And avoid it like the plague if you have read the Tao of Pooh as it will retrospectively dim your enjoyment of that book.

As to why this book is so bad. For one thing it feels heavy, world weary & cynical to me, more like the Te of Eeyore than the Te of Piglet. I don't know if this was a contractual obligation book, but that is what it feels like to me. I can almost feel the author's resentment at having to write it curl off the pages.

And then there are the rather random rants against the many and varied targets of the authors ire, which are rather out of place, diminish my opinion of the author and again enhance my feeling that this is a contractual obligation book.

In short do your Karma (and dogma (and catma)) a favour and stick to the Tao of Pooh. ( )

Meditative and meandering, The Te of Piglet accomplishes it's intention of delivering an accessible introduction to Taoist ideas and traditions as compliments it's predecessor, The Tao of Pooh.

Hardly a page-turner, Hoff's approach is a calm one, for the most part. The work is peppered with excepts from texts ranging thousands of years of literary and philosophical works. The tone does, at times, make this a slower read, but this is easily forgivable given the author's obvious intention. ( )

Taoist philosophy illustrated by Piglet in Pooh books, gets a bit preachy at times

Hoff's ability to recreate the voices of Pooh and his friends has worsened in this companion novel, but the core content of philosophy remains about as good as the other one. There are one or two rants about politically charged things that may or may not hold up, and it's not inappropriate given the context, but it might dissuade some readers. ( )

From the outset [a: Benjamin Hoff|27397|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1472629940p2/27397.jpg] makes it clear that this is not so much a sequel to [b: The Tao of Pooh|48757|The Tao of Pooh|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348137748s/48757.jpg|55188] as it is a companion book to the first. What this means, essentially, is that this exists to further expound upon the contents of [b: The Tao of Pooh|48757|The Tao of Pooh|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348137748s/48757.jpg|55188] rather than complement them exactly. The result of which is a book that goes much more in depth than [b: The Tao of Pooh|48757|The Tao of Pooh|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348137748s/48757.jpg|55188] and comes across as considerably less charming than the first. It is what it is.

I first heard about this book from a friend's mom, a former teacher of Buddhism, and she was considerably fond of it. I read it only cautiously, having been a great fan of the first book, but ultimately did not find myself disappointed. Yes, it is more complicated than [b: The Tao of Pooh|48757|The Tao of Pooh|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348137748s/48757.jpg|55188] and with less charming interjections from the characters and examples. It falls into ranting now and again rather than explaining plainly, but ultimately it is informative. It gives one things to think on, contains a lot of rather beautiful Taoist translations, and altogether is entertaining. That's all I truly ask for from most books.

I would caution people about this book, and explain what it is prior to them reading it. Do not go in expecting the same experience [b: The Tao of Pooh|48757|The Tao of Pooh|Benjamin Hoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348137748s/48757.jpg|55188] offered, but go in with an open heart and mind. I'm hovering between a 2 and 3 star rating. I did enjoy the book, but it still left me feeling more empty than perhaps I would like. It didn't have the charm of the first book, and at times was more muddled than helpful. I liked the message, but I liked reading through the Book of Changes more than this.

Perhaps it will be stronger upon a reread? ( )