Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsBadly written. A complete waste of time.
Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2023
It's probably a good book for some people, just not for me. It's very shallow and reads like a series of texts from a teenager. I can't believe the book is actually written by a middle-aged man. My advice: Do yourself a favor, save $30 and your time by reading the Bible instead. The essence of the book can be found in just one verse: Luke 10:42. One thing is needed for the antidote to a hurried life, and that is to sit at the feet of Jesus daily. Very simple, yet we know we all struggle to have a regular quiet time with the Lord, partly because the devil is working hard preventing us from doing so. This spiritual battle aspect is not even addressed in the book, of course.
Instead, Comer just gives the reader simple solutions in lists that you could find in blog articles on the internet for free, e.g. 10 ways to become a minimalist, 15 strategies to declutter your life, etc. But not just that. Comer spent half of the book just to make a point and to convince us that there is something wrong with life in the Western culture. I mean, duh! I'm sure people who pick up this book already know that there's a problem with their busy lives and the society we live in, and they desire something better. Otherwise they wouldn't have felt compelled to read this book. I for one certainly don't need to read 100+pages to realize that!
Instead, Comer doesn't start discussing his proposed solutions until so late in the book, and what he offers is not even ground-breaking. It's mostly what we all already know. Don't impulse buy, live with a budget, be frugal, kill the tv, practice spiritual disciplines, have quiet time with God regularly, etc. Duh! I've lived without a TV for 6 years, I'm a minimalist already, and I didn't have to pay $30 for a book and read it to get there.
I just find the book to be ironic, if not hypocritical. It's telling you to be frugal, yet the the book is very expensive. It's telling you to live a minimalist life, yet it's not available as an e-book, which means another thing to occupy your shelf and I'm trying to give away books and things, and minimize. The book is telling you to spend more time alone with God, yet the author is not concise and babbles for hundreds of pages to make a simple point, basically stealing the time that you could otherwise use to read the Bible and pray.
Almost everything he writes in this book is simplistic, if not childish, and the way he conveys it is condescending. It definitely has a patronizing tone. It's like he's preaching to kids. I can't stand the way it's written either. It's full of one-word sentences and references to the current pop culture which will be so outdated ten years from now. It bothers me so much. It sounds like the author is desperately trying to be cool and relevant to the secular world. The fact that this book has so many good reviews speaks to the state of Christianity in America. Very concerning. Plus, why should I be listening to someone preaching about "how to be emotionally healthy" when he himself relies on a therapist with a PhD? Sorry, but this book is just not for me. I'm returning it. Getting my money back in an effort to practice a frugal and minimalist life! Good font and layout though!