Review of Wilderness Cry

[Che Sparrowbosa]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Wilderness Cry" by Hilary L Hunt M.D..]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Wilderness Cry by Hilary L Hunt M.D., lives up to the expectations set by its title in ways the reader may not even think upon initially inspecting it. For those who don't know, a 'wilderness cry' essentially means a voice pleading and or yelling out to persons to hear the truth or danger of a particularly important subject, but no one seems to be listening or paying attention to it. In this context, that is exactly the underlying intent brought out by Hunt in this book. The book takes the reader along the author's quest to revaluate and further investigate the true meaning of religion and its principles in an attempt to erase what was spouted to him under false pretences all his life by his Catholic upbringing. The reader is enthralled by what is a potentially controversial exposure to the Christian and Catholic dogma and their flawed ideals as Hunt has set upon a journey of truth-seeking from not just a spiritual view, but one based on science and evidence as well.

A major positive to this book would have to be the way that it approaches its subjects through material data. While most books that are labelled as "spiritual literature" focus or rely mainly on personal conviction, this author instead implores the use of excerpts from statistical data, tangible evidence, scientific text and even refers to philosophical commentary by other theologians besides himself. I also enjoyed the raw truth and urgency you felt from the well-edited words of the author that saw his 'wilderness cry' and desire to unravel the stigmas associated with religious doctrine. Also, the humour Hunt worked into the moments were also a result of the genuine prose that was exposed through the exceptional writing so that was also a nice touch.

What I did not appreciate, however, was how he attempted in some areas to manipulate the reader into thinking some of his biased theories and assertations were indeed fact. While some of his articulations were backed by sound logic and evidence yes, the style of writing he used attempted to hide what was fact from what was merely his opinion by intertwining the two in the same areas of passage. This can be very misleading for some readers who know no better as it relates to this type of literature and it can be mistaken as sound data for those wishing to refer to it. The author set out to answer questions on his own accord without the blinds that have been disabling him throughout his spiritual life and he attempted to do just the same with his reader instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusions instead and this did not sit right with me.

All in all, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars . This is so because it was generally a commendable piece of work as it relates to ascertaining the writer's intent. Wilderness Cry gave the allusion of something that the reader must pay attention too and it did well to grasp the ideological essence of a spiritual literature genre while also giving it an autobiographical and classical novel experience. It would have gotten a full rating if not for the single fact as mentioned prior where it felt as if the author was intentionally trying to manipulate his readers into believing that his premeditated conclusions were factual data. I felt that it was too big of an issue to let go of and that this will dissuade authors from pulling stunts like that themselves in future.

I enjoyed the journey the book presented me with though and would recommend it to those readers that are looking for a fellow "wilderness crier" themselves. I would also recommend this to theologians and someone who is seeking answers to certain questions just like the author Hilary Hunt. I highly would not recommend this book though to readers that are new to any type of faith as it is biased in some areas and maybe misleading to sensitive and those naïve to the whole aspect of religion. Also, I would not recommend this book to religious folk who are quite strict or sensitive when it comes to their faiths being challenged or when Catholic doctrines are not put in the typical light they are accustomed to seeing. I would purchase it as a gift for my parents and any of my friends who like philosophy and sound argumentative topics, however, and I look forward to other works that Hilary will bring forth.

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Wilderness Cry
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[Bigwig1973]

Your review of the book is very thorough and apt. I sometimes wonder though, if the overall theory had been explained and supported by examples, then would it have been perceived as less forceful. I think perhaps that the theory proposed wouldn't work unless the reader perceives the "premeditated conclusions" as fact. Regardless, your review is very good!