A recent talk in the South was a book review by one of the newer members of Lodge Canoblas Lewis.
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| The Book in Question... |
Brother Meagher had recently picked up a copy of the Hit Novel "the Lost Symbol" at the Orange Public School Book Fair; this is a fund raising event for the Orange Public School, where various second hand & donated books are offered up for sale to the general public, with all funds raised going to the school. It is a really good value event with books sold @ $1/2.5 cm of spine width. It is a good event as it supports reading & the pleasure of holding a book.
So, onto the review:
The Lost Symbol is quite simply a rollicking read. It is in the tradition of the early pulp paperbacks of old, or the block buster reads of the current generations (or, is very similar in style to Brown’s other Block Buster “the Da Vinci Code”), in that the fast paced story in fact takes place in a single 24 hour period with the protagonists Good v Evil, performing tasks & stunts that would push the ordinary man to the outer limits; as well as having plots twists & turns that defy the reader to lose attention! It has it all, love interests, family issues, world issues, trauma, devotion beyond the ordinary persons understandings... you name it, it is there.
One of the very Masonic themes is on the gaining of wisdom by practice & the consequences of power without the wisdom to manage it's responsibility; A young man that has it all, but has a hollow life & should have looked at his Masonic oaths as a mantra to live by, rather than a means to gain power ... Just like Spiderman said: Great Power requires great responsibility. Maybe Spiderman is a Freemason too?
In a lot of ways, the Masons look a bit like Ye Olde Tyme Jedi Knights... Except we ware rather spiffy dinner suits in Lodge Canoblas Lewis & the rules of the fraternity specify that you do not bring weapons into a Lodge!
Whilst the story is great & exciting, we found the ending rather anticlimactic & a bit of a let down really... to be honest the ending was weird & in the opinion of those that read it, it didn't fit with the rest of the book. Despite this, as a whole, Canoblas Lewis is of the opinion that the ending did endorse the masonic practice of acceptance of differing religions in lodge... we would have preferred the secret to be really cool, like, Captain America and Spiderman actually got their super powers through Freemasonry or, that a Masonic Temple can take you to Mars (the planet, not the confectionery).
We think it would have sounded far cooler! I suppose it is just as well that Canoblas Lewis didn't write the book; who knows where we would have taken the plot!
From a Masonic perspective a lot of the masonic images mentioned in the book are very true. It shows that he has certainly done his homework; however, he does have a few misleading pieces in the book that to us were out-dated; although, in his defence, this could be the difference in practice of the Washington DC lodges when compared against NSW lodge practices; this is one of the cool aspects of freemasonry - being that different areas all have different "takes" on what Masonry is.
The fun aspect of a lodge is very present in the book. The importance of guarding tradition is present too. The feel of the rituals (being ancient) is present as well; this gives the reader the sense that Freemasonry is Fun & Rewarding - which is very true.
At this point, despite Dan's depiction of masons in overall positive ways, we should point out that Masons can not levitate. Or talk telepathically. Or start fires by mind power. Nor can we breath under water. Well at least not in a Lodge of Master Masons... Maybe the 33° degree Brethren of the Scottish Rite lodges can!
As Canoblas Lewis is a craft lodge for Apprentices, Fellow-crafts & Master Masons, the mysteries of the 33° Scottish Rite are not known to us, however our resident 33° member said they were "kind of" accurate in "some parts" of the Book - He DID have a twinkle in his eye when he said this...
It may surprise the lay person but, there are many different varieties of Freemasonry. Thus, even though the higher degrees meet at the Orange Masonic Center, Canoblas Lewis is none the wiser to what happens in those meetings than any layperson AND long may it stay that way!
Anyway, we (The Brethren of Lodge Canoblas Lewis # 806) heartily recommend this book as a good read to anyone; BUT, to those out there that wish to see what actually goes on in a lodge, feel free to Come Along & perhaps Join Lodge Canoblas Lewis # 806 to see the realities
We are sure that you would love it as much as we do
So Mote It Be!
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