Reviews for The Solid Mandala

The average rating for The Solid Mandala based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-09-01 00:00:00 Artemio Garcia June 2020 update: Recently saw an interview with Patrick White, and he said this was his favourite book. So I just read it again. We start and end with the community view of the twins, and the ideas of society are one manifestation of a �solid mandala� encountered in this challenging novel. Part 2 is the longest, and is from Waldo�s point of view; later, in Arthur�s section, we are forced to re-evaluate all our assumptions. Here is another big theme�the debate between the intellect and the physical. The twins represent both, and on one level the novel can be seen to portray the struggle to integrate a complete personality. Throw in the fact the twins, even as adults, continue to sleep together, and one can see that White tossed as much into the pot as he dared at the time. This book also foreshadows themes explored more fully in The Twyborn Affair. White has a confident masterful approach, and gets away with a lot. I still intend to reread all the rest, and then start all over again. // Previous review: White is writing here about two brothers who together form some kind of unit. I can't help but wonder if the two brothers are a kind of stand in for another kind of male pair bond. In any event, I'm going to re-read every book Patrick White wrote and figure out the answer to every question. Yes, that is what I shall do.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-06 00:00:00 Travis Willis Loved this book! It tells the story, of two non-identical twins and their lives together. Waldo, the intellectual one, dreams of writing the great novel. Arthur, the 'dill', is a bit simple but capable of great love. The culminating event in this novel is Waldo's discovery that Arthur not only reads fiction but also that he has written poetry, and the shock of this leads him to take drastic action. Could be viewed as two sides of the same personality: the ego (Waldo, an unattractive character unable to be warm and loving) and the 'other' � the oneness or 'totality' of loving Arthur. The solid mandalas are the marbles that Arthur keeps in his pocket and gives to the chosen few, and that symbolize this oneness. These are Mrs Poulter, Dulcie Feinstein and her husband Saporta, and Arthur would like to give one to Waldo but he refuses, just as he refuses Arthur's love. This is a moving and brilliant story of great sensibility.