A Review of Skip Prichard’s “The Book of Mistakes”
Success! (Well, Mostly)
Has life got you down? Wondering how some people keep succeeding while you toil in a dull job? Feel stuck in a rut? Are you repeating the same mistakes over and over again? God knows that I’ve felt these ways on many occasions. Thus, when Skip Prichard’s The Book of Mistakes crossed my radar, I was intrigued. I wanted to learn from a successful CEO just how one becomes a success story, seeing as though I feel in many ways that I am a failure (my book of short stories is still unpublished, for instance). Prichard has the tone of a life coach in this book, and he’s definitely trying to cheer you on as he imparts his wisdom in this parable of a book.
The format is a bit surprising. There are two interconnected stories that run parallel in this volume, making it a self-help book fluffed up as a work of fiction. At less than 200 pages, it is also rather short — and that’s not counting the gratuitous use of white space. But I digress. The story is about a young man named David who winds up meeting an Old Man by chance in the present day who is guarding a very special book called The Book of Mistakes. In it are nine mistakes that the unsuccessful person constantly makes. There is much wisdom to be gleaned from this book, and the Old Man sets David off on a journey where he encounters a bevvy of helpers who impart each of the volume’s mistakes. Layered over that is a saga set in Revolutionary War times where a young woman named Aria becomes a guardian of the book and is given the command to keep it safe and out of enemy hands so that its message can be passed on.
I know what you’re thinking. That setup sounds rather corny, and it is. However, it kind of works in a childlike, innocent kind of way. I did think the Aria sections of the book were a little hokey, but readers of Young Adult fiction, in particular, might be taken with its cast on historical fiction. Essentially, though, in the David’s story’s case, you want to see him triumph and there is pleasure and a deep satisfaction in watching him grow as each successive mistake is imparted to him.
What are the mistakes? Well, I’m not going to spoil anything — you’ll have to read the book to learn the secrets — but I will say that a lot of what’s imparted here is common knowledge sprinkled with a bit of common sense. I would say that the age group this book is probably being targeted most for is the Millennial and Generation Y cohort. They would be young enough to have not really figured out some of the book’s teachings by themselves yet. In fact, in at least one of the book’s mistakes to learn from, it is pointed out that the mistake is rooted in high school’s pecking order.
Where I had some disappointment was in the fact that the book is not very prescriptive. That is to say, it tells you what to avoid, but offers no advice on how to avoid it. Maybe asking for that might have been impossible, as everyone’s life circumstances are novel and unique. Still, it might have been helpful to an extent if a few examples of how to broach relationships with other people in avoiding these nine mistakes would have helped in bolstering the case of the book and upping the page count. Which reminds me of a point I wanted to make: this book would have made a fine infographic or a magazine listicle article. I’m not sure if the telling of a fictional story to plump this up to book length really adds anything. However, I don’t want to seem like a Grouchy McGrouchy. The fiction is enjoyable in its own way.
One thing I should mention is that the book is published by a Christian publisher, so there are some references to God and the Bible that may scare some (atheist) readers away. The references are muted, really — but they are there nonetheless. In addition to supposing that you are a young reader, the book implicitly supposes that you are also a Christian. At the very least, though, the book does not bash you over the head with it. If you’re not a Christian, I think you’d still walk away after reading this having learned something. So, check your atheism at the door if you must.
Conclusively, The Book of Mistakes is an enjoyable read as both a slight yarn and as a personal growth title. It certainly got me thinking of some of my own failings and things were even I may have to work on. I don’t know if the lessons are so important that they must be kept out of enemy hands at all costs, to summarize from the book’s fictitious passages, but learn you will. At best, if you’re feeling run down and that someone else is always performing better than you, the book will open your eyes and make you accountable to your own personal situation. You’ll learn that setbacks are but a stepping stone to success, and the only true mistakes you can make are the ones outlined in this book.
The Book of Mistakes is optimistic in tone and approach. It doesn’t really lecture or belittle you. It just outlines a better way of living. Even if some of this can be found elsewhere or you may come to your own conclusions just by living life for a long time, this short work is a reminder to put into practice a number of disciplines that will serve you well over time. This is not a perfect book, but that’s hardly a mistake. If you have something still to learn — and, no matter what your age, you should — you may get something out of this book. The Book of Mistakes is helpful and not a hinderance. Unless of course you hate reading self-help gussed up in fiction. In that case, oh well.
Skip Prichards’s The Book of Mistakes: Nine Secrets to Creating a Successful Future is being published by Center Street today, on February 6, 2018.
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