⇒ [PDF] THE ROAD TO PURIFICATION Hustlers Hassles Hash eBook Harry Whitewolf

THE ROAD TO PURIFICATION Hustlers Hassles Hash eBook Harry Whitewolf

Download As PDF : THE ROAD TO PURIFICATION Hustlers Hassles Hash eBook Harry Whitewolf

THE ROAD TO PURIFICATION Hustlers Hassles Hash eBook Harry Whitewolf

The only Beatnik book I ever liked was Dharma Bums. For the first and only time, it seemed, Kerouac not only reined in the typewriter diarrhea, he seemed content to tell a simple story, with a beginning, middle and end. If he'd done this with all his books, I might've dug what the Beats were all about. Instead, I was turned off. Only Dharma Bums left a nice impression, to the point that I even wished, while reading, that I, too, were exploring Zen Buddhism in northern California during the 1950's.

Thus, I feared the worst when I started The Road to Purification, after I'd seen Harry Whitewolf's author profile here on GR pointing to the Beats as a primary influence. I expected sloppy writing and incoherent thought, with scenes of sex and drugs being the only relief. Happily, I can report that not only does Purification rise to the level of Dharma, it goes beyond it. If there's a NeoBeat movement at hand, let this great tale be its On the Road.

Plot: Mad Harry (AKA Harry Whitewolf) goes to pre-revolutionary Egypt after a nasty break-up in order to get away from all he's known and (somehow) put himself back together. Right away, I related to this premise because the same thing happened to me; only I didn't have the guts to actually leave - let alone to a place like Egypt.

Nothing epic happens but the exotic backdrop makes the quotidian very dramatic indeed. Mad Harry, having dived headfirst into culture shock, spends almost every minute of every day being challenged in one way or another. He's constantly badgered by merchants wanting to sell overpriced crap; ever haggling in order not to go broke before his month is over; called Bob Marley by about a million Egyptians (Mad Harry has dreadlocks); and frustrated to do the simplest things (like acquire toilet paper). If Mad Harry wanted distraction, he got it.

But he's on a quest, to purify himself of a toxic experience before returning home to England and getting on with his life. And while I don't share either Mad Harry's spirituality (nor his fondness for alternative history), I found his odyssey and his point of view absolutely sympathetic and understandable. Reading this book, you become Harry, and even if you're not a hash-smoking backpacker frequently on the verge of becoming an episode of Banged-Up Abroad, you quickly get to see that not only is Harry rather more like you and me, you're touched he extends the courtesy to those Egyptians who are also more like you and me.

Far from an overly sensitive poet with a passion for self-pity, Mad Harry's a strong character with a sense of mission. He gets sidetracked from time to time but doesn't let himself get screwed over if he can help it. He stands up for himself and flings himself courageously forward. The honesty and humor of this journey is simply written and even if it is autobiographical, it feels like a novel. It was a fun read and I feel better for having read it. I may even open myself to spirituality again at some point.

I can easily see Road to Purification as one of those indie movies that are quirky in parts, but with enough plot to sucker you in. Until then, anyone can read this book and, I think, finish it with a good feeling inside.


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THE ROAD TO PURIFICATION Hustlers Hassles Hash eBook Harry Whitewolf Reviews

Like a stoner diary so self involved totally missing the beauty of Egypt and the Egyptians. Great read for a backpacker
Breaking up is hard to do. We’ve invested our hopes and dreams in the other person and the relationship; when these dreams are broken our initial response is escape. We don’t want to be around the things or places that will remind us of the other person. For most of us that escape is into ourselves, not a physical escape. What if you could get away, change your locus in the world where nothing could possibly remind you of the other person, where would you go? Would it be just someplace else, a weekend away or would you send yourself to the furthest place you could physically and culturally? Mad Harry the protagonist of “The Road to Purification Hustlers, Hassels, and Hash” by Harry Whitewolf chooses the later in the locale of Egypt.

Egypt is a country Mad Harry has always wanted to see. Why not the most enigmatic of civilizations achievements to lose himself in? You would think Harry makes straight for the pyramids and the Sphinx. Not right off, first he lets himself get swept into adventures that one can classify as either being open to adventure that comes along or you’ve given up on caring what happens to you.

Harry gets lost in Egypt, both literally and more so, figuratively. Harry discovers what we all like to think we know intellectually, that it doesn’t matter where you are, close or far from the ex, maybe removed from the conscious mind but the memories come along too. As Harry travels around Egypt in search of himself. Mad Harry moves from being mad at the ex to bordering on madness as he moves from chaos and seeing devils to meeting angels as he attempts to purify himself of lost love as his travels becomes more deliberate.

Whitewolf doesn’t have any romantic illusions about Egypt, and his writing is so evocative you get a palpable sense of the crowded streets of Cairo. You can almost see the sands around the Pyramid of Cheops, so dirtied it reminds one of a sand ashtray strewn with butts and burnt ashes. Whitewolf also captures the desperation and anxiety one feels after a break-up. Thoughts traveling at the speed of the firing of neurons, jumping from one thought to the next to what to you feels natural, but to an outsider, or even yourself in less stressful period, seem mad.

In “The Road to Purification Hustlers, Hassels, and Hash” Whitewolf captures what we push ourselves to after we’ve stretched our lives to include another. Those borders are returning to their original size as we twist and turn to assimilate the loss. “The Road to Purification” is a good book to read no matter which stage of a relationship you’re in. It’s a mirror of what may have once been, or what may be in the future.
I felt like I was running in concentric circles (see visual http//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentric) reading this book. I could feel the exhaustion of being a tourist in Egypt and oddly felt like I was alternately stoned or drunk or hung over, or ill, just like the author. His writing conveys such states very well. So, for one day, I had the experience of being a heart-broken British man in Egypt, being pulled toward spiritual serenity and then snapped back by addiction, with all sorts of interesting characters playing a part. This book is all about the journey, not the destination, though it did leave me wanting to visit certain parts of Egypt.
Before reading this book I could for certain say that I had never smoked pot...or been to Egypt! This acid rabbit hole road trip of Egypt had me so engorged that I'm pretty sure I was in numerous apartments in Egypt smoking pot with a heart broken Mad Harry.

Mad Harry is a bad ass hustler and should write a book about how to beat the locals at their own game.

Enjoyed my pseudo pot smokin' trip to Egypt...thanks, Harry!
The only Beatnik book I ever liked was Dharma Bums. For the first and only time, it seemed, Kerouac not only reined in the typewriter diarrhea, he seemed content to tell a simple story, with a beginning, middle and end. If he'd done this with all his books, I might've dug what the Beats were all about. Instead, I was turned off. Only Dharma Bums left a nice impression, to the point that I even wished, while reading, that I, too, were exploring Zen Buddhism in northern California during the 1950's.

Thus, I feared the worst when I started The Road to Purification, after I'd seen Harry Whitewolf's author profile here on GR pointing to the Beats as a primary influence. I expected sloppy writing and incoherent thought, with scenes of sex and drugs being the only relief. Happily, I can report that not only does Purification rise to the level of Dharma, it goes beyond it. If there's a NeoBeat movement at hand, let this great tale be its On the Road.

Plot Mad Harry (AKA Harry Whitewolf) goes to pre-revolutionary Egypt after a nasty break-up in order to get away from all he's known and (somehow) put himself back together. Right away, I related to this premise because the same thing happened to me; only I didn't have the guts to actually leave - let alone to a place like Egypt.

Nothing epic happens but the exotic backdrop makes the quotidian very dramatic indeed. Mad Harry, having dived headfirst into culture shock, spends almost every minute of every day being challenged in one way or another. He's constantly badgered by merchants wanting to sell overpriced crap; ever haggling in order not to go broke before his month is over; called Bob Marley by about a million Egyptians (Mad Harry has dreadlocks); and frustrated to do the simplest things (like acquire toilet paper). If Mad Harry wanted distraction, he got it.

But he's on a quest, to purify himself of a toxic experience before returning home to England and getting on with his life. And while I don't share either Mad Harry's spirituality (nor his fondness for alternative history), I found his odyssey and his point of view absolutely sympathetic and understandable. Reading this book, you become Harry, and even if you're not a hash-smoking backpacker frequently on the verge of becoming an episode of Banged-Up Abroad, you quickly get to see that not only is Harry rather more like you and me, you're touched he extends the courtesy to those Egyptians who are also more like you and me.

Far from an overly sensitive poet with a passion for self-pity, Mad Harry's a strong character with a sense of mission. He gets sidetracked from time to time but doesn't let himself get screwed over if he can help it. He stands up for himself and flings himself courageously forward. The honesty and humor of this journey is simply written and even if it is autobiographical, it feels like a novel. It was a fun read and I feel better for having read it. I may even open myself to spirituality again at some point.

I can easily see Road to Purification as one of those indie movies that are quirky in parts, but with enough plot to sucker you in. Until then, anyone can read this book and, I think, finish it with a good feeling inside.