Review: Hot Rock Dreaming
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2012
Trying to wrap your mind around Aboriginal "Dreaming" can lead to a headache--I tried it once--so I was intrigued with Martin Roth's book. It didn't give me a headache but it did keep me up late! I HAD to find out "who done it!" Who ripped off the priceless paintings?Aboriginal painters, an eco-conscious corporation, incredibly valuable artwork, a pastor, a private investigator, a beautiful shaman, a retired rocker, a glib reporter... These colorful characters are very well developed and each character stands out in bold relief. Roth gives us pictures of the reality of each people group without rationalizing or justifying it. With a journalist's eye, He sees and accurately, deftly portrays the clash of stereotypes and prejudices and the honest struggles different groups have when trying to remain true to one way of life and yet cautiously embrace another whether that be in religion, economics or science. It isn't an easy thing to do regardless of the playing field.Roth takes us into a very different world--one in which the spiritual and the natural world are one and the same. Westerners separated the two long ago, operating in the natural, believe the two have little to no relationship and so mostly ignore the spiritual (except for the "spiritual people" who can't!) Western worldview, with only half its reality is bound to have difficulty relating and understanding a worldview that has both realities!Consequently, we have the clash of the cutting edge green corporation generating electricity from steam generated by pumping cold water on the magma crust with the "divine right" of the Aboriginal to his "dreaming site." There is the struggle of the up and coming aboriginal artist between his art as worship and the lure of incredible amounts of money. There is the struggle of the aboriginal with Christianity; can he/she be Christian and be authentic? Can he/she be faithful to his/her family and still be Christian? There is the struggle on the part of some Christians to respect the faith and acknowledge the power of practices of aboriginals without comment. Can a Christian have such respect and remain faithful and authentically Christian? There is the struggle, or lack of struggle, on the part of protective services to understand aboriginal rationale and discern when to investigate and when to respectfully butt out.All of this clashing and struggling is told somewhat dispassionately by Johnnie Ravine the private investigator who is trying to solve his mystery. However, when Johnnie becomes the target of a bone pointing ceremony things become wild and passionate for him very personally! And, for what happens...you stay up half the night to find out!But this book is not about philosophy, religion or world view! It is a story of ego, greed and avarice! This book kept me going.Highly recommended for lovers of adventure, thrillers, fast paced action and intercultural contact.