Product Description
Days in Heaven is a mystical love triangle between a young woman, a lover, and the Beloved. Inspired by Attar's Sufi poem The Parliament of the Birds, yet set in the contemporary world of pop music, Days In Heaven has been warmly endorsed by author Rupert Sheldrake and Mike Scott, the founder of the legendary band The Waterboys. Set in New York and Europe, in Dublin, London, Paris, the Italian Riviera, Rome and above all the Alps, Days In Heaven is a tale about the effects of prayer, dreams, music, love, discovery, healing, and...synchronicity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Everything that a perfect book should be!
My stepfather, Wayne (who wrote a smashing review here, as well) sent me Days in Heaven for my 21st birthday.It was a beautiful book to read; I read it twice and know I will read it again (and again...).Days in Heaven is a book of hope and inspiration.It shows us that life is not always what we anticipate, that it is full of surprises, miracles, and remarkable connections of different parts of our lives.The characters in this book are well rounded and charming-especially Jimmi and even more especially, Martha.I hope I meet someone like each of them someday.The plot is original and intricately interwoven-and as my step-dad pointed out-no foul language.Guido Mina di Sospiro has a fine repertoire to express anything and everything in his novel.Thank you, sir, for that, and thanks, Wayne, for a great birthday present!

A worthwhile read
I've just finished reading DinH for the 3rd time.The only other book I've ever repeatedly reread was a Hemingway novel for a whole summer.If you like good writing, read DinH; when you get to the last page, try starting over immediately on page 1.You will find new things, slowly at first then faster and faster.

Literary Alchemy
Guido Mina di Sospiro is an original voice, a skilled practitioner of linguistic alchemy.In this mysteriously entertaining novel, di Sospiro blends ancient wisdom with modern storytelling technique to create an enlightened vision of human potential.At the core of this engaging novel are two souls,the beloved Joan, a rock and roll critic in quest of musical truth and Jimmi, an Irish troubadour, in quest of Joan - two parts of a whole in search of each other.Steady and self-assured, di Sospiro makes us think, feel, experience, on manylevels, from the ridiculous to the sublime.Most contemporary authors pay heed mostly to the sound of money. Di Sospiro has tried to attune himself to the music of the spheres. He's not afraid to let God speak in his story, or to bring his characters to life in a dance of destiny.Ultimately, this is a book about attaining perfection, what it means to be an artist in life and living.Spend a few wondrous "Days In Heaven" and explore infinite possibilities.You won't be disappointed.

A very original and mystical love story!
The Author done something remarkable: he has succeeded in adapting a great Sufi classic, "The Parliament of the Birds" by Atar in the contemporary world of pop music. It is a highly enjoyable read and yet very profound. I loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
How often do you encounter a tale told by a tree? A tree that had seen a thousand winters before the Vikings came to America. She is a female tree, she explains with botanical exactitude, with access to the consciousness and memories of all other trees, and even to her own race memory, which is that of the first tree that grew on Earth. This is the Story of Yew, oldest of the old. And because her story becomes intimately entwined with humankind, it is also the Story of You.

Ah, humankind! At first, because she is vain and inexperienced, Yew despises these strange two-legged creatures who crash into her ken, invading her placid grove to make it a temple for bloody sacrifice. She comes to tolerate the succeeding races who reverence her stately, massive form, seeing in her longevity and powers of renewal an expression of Nature Herself. Gradually, she comes to understand her power. She communicates with birds and insects. She gathers information through the fungal network which links her to every other plant in her land. She discovers the yew's terrifying ability to kill all other species in her forest. After 2000 years she also experiences her own death. But her roots remain — and sprout new shoots. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

It is as good as it looks
This is a great, memorable book. All the reviewers here, and those on Amazon.co.uk, I've checked, are right. The single reviewer who so disliked it must be pedantic and pedestrian. I think the author has it right: Only by making us identify with trees could we truly relate to them. Also, one should not idealize trees and nature in general, thinking them benign. I have learned that trees too engage in warfare, and there is a hierarchy in the woods. If this does not match this particular reviewer's preconceived notion on how the universe should be, too bad. For all of you unbiased readers I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It's a gem.

Sorry to disagree with everyone else here...
...but I found this to be one of the most abyssmally tedious books I've read in a very long time.I'm not one to stop reading a book or walk out of a movie once I've started it, but this one sorely tempted me.

Yes, it may be an original idea to write a novel from the perspective of a tree.One might hope that the author wouldmake an effort to write from what might be a tree's point of view.He does nothing of the kind.Rather, he anthropomorphizes the female yew "protagonist" into a warlike, arrogant creature more reminiscent of a human male oligarchist (or maybe Margaret Thatcher?) than anything botanical.He does little better in personifying the various other plants and animals populating his forest, turning them into leafy or furry humans, rather than trying to imagine how the world might more likely be perceived by non-human species.

Call it an allegory if you will, but it's not an effective one, if you ask me.

As an evolutionary biologist, I cannot fathom why so many of these reviews (here and in the book's first pages) cite the biological accuracy of this work.At best, the author has a borderline understanding of how evolution works, and some of the natural history anecdotes were just plain incorrect.

Sorry, but I give this one a big apical meristem *down*.

A extraordinary book.
I have found the new Tolkien in Guido Mina di Sospiro. I could not put the book down, it has it all, myth, botany, and fantasy. It was a great treat. I look forward to reading more from this author. My discovery of the 21st Century.

Si Monumentum Requiris, go to the Abbey!
Ugh.Tree huggers.Well maybe.Beware "teaming" masses, this Guido is dangerous. He will provoke you and lead you to have original thoughts and circumspect conversations.Dare we think beyond the Bell Curve?You have been warned!

Oh right, the dinosaur bit was "sidesplitting"; Har!

A very special treat!
I am an ecologist and have been into trees for many years and can state that this book is a milestone for nature. You will learn about trees and man from a great 2000 year old yew tree. This book has it all, nature, myth, history, once you start reading it is hard to put down. It has been a very long time since I've read a book that I have been able to recommend to all my friends. "The Story of Yew" is it. ... Read more