The Book of Qualities

by J. Ruth Gendler

Overview

From Beauty to Compassion, from Pleasure to Terror, from Resignation to Joy — here is an insightful exploration of the rich diversity of human qualities. J. Ruth Gendler's evocative book has as its cast of familiar characters our own emotions, brought to life with a poet's wisdom and an artist's perceptive eye. In The Book of Qualities' magical community, Excitement wears orange socks, Faith lives in the same apartment building as Doubt, and Worry makes lists of everything that could go wrong while she is waiting for the train. In portraying the complexities of the psyche, Gendler uses the Qualities to bridge the distinctions between literature and psychology, and has created an original work that challenges us to look at our emotions in new and inspiring ways.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060962524
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/27/1988
Series:	Harper Perennial
Edition description:	1st Perennial Library ed
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	178,573
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Janet Ruth Gendler wears orange socks, arranges her clothes by color in the closet, keeps the herbs in alphabetical order, and doesn't understand the separation between work and play. Gendler was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska and received B.A.'s in English and Communication from Stanford University in 1977. She has written articles on the arts, health, and education. She works in publishing and teaches intuitive art classes. Gendler currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Read an Excerpt

The Wind

The Wind is a gossip. Not in a malicious way. She just likes to move around and stir things up. She runs through the fire barefoot and has no fear of heights. She carries big blue bowls of rain with her. She plays the flute and loves all kinds of sounds. Her laughter fills the sky. The Wind is a wonderful storyteller. I still remember how she introduced me to the Oualities when I was a child.

The Book of Qualities. Copyright © by J. Ruth Gendler. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

What People are Saying About This

Art Kliener

"A bright new talent whose work is at once reminiscent of James Thurber's drawings, Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and Zen koans."

George Leonard

"Ruth Gendler has discovered a way to give new meaning and immediacy to familiar words. Her brief meta-definitions sing, dance, and sometimes cry."

Jean Bolen

"The Qualities are wise and whimsical and express truth in a very personal way."