The Prophet 先知: 中英逐句對照．新譯版

The Prophet is a well-loved classic of poetic essays. Each chapter discusses a different topic such as love, marriage, children, and joy. However, this style of writing did not appeal to me. While I enjoyed some parts of the book, the discussions were often too high-level and resembled a self-help book. The concepts presented were often obvious, and the only thing that kept me reading was learning about the life of Khalil Gibran, which I researched online. For instance, one chapter on Clothes suggests that we should wear clothes that reflect our true selves, which sounds superficial and self-help oriented. However, after researching Gibran's life, I found that he enjoyed going out in the rain naked as a child, making this concept more profound and personal to his experience. Although I found the research aspect interesting, I cannot say that it entirely validated my enjoyment of the book. I may consider reading other books by the author, but only if they are stories rather than essays.

I don't think i'll ever change my rating

The first time I read The Prophet was when I was so small that I could not understand a single word Kahlil Gibran writes in his book, let alone his message and philosophy. Now that I read again, I realize how beautifully written this book is, and how deep the meaning of its stories.