Four stars! A good read. The book was true to the quote on its back cover: " The story reminds me that all human beings are on an individual journey-like me, here on the edge of the Sea of Death." Many parts of the book seemed real, like chapters about a tea ritual and Dante's visit to the Museum of Abnormal Medicine. The writing is uncomplicated and spare, like a fable or parable. I'm recommending it to my friends. There is a lot of wisdom about the life in "The Mystic" TODD SMITH (Santa Barbara, CA)