Scan barcode
A review by frosthetix
Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke
All shall be well.
Rules for a Knight is a letter from a father to his children, and because of that, I found it less condescending than most self-help-do-better-at-life sort of books. The examples/scenarios he used to explain each rule were all nice and thought out, even though some of the passages were direct lifts from old chinese fables or philosopher stories, which I found to be quite interesting and makes me genuinely wonder whether knights had the habit of reading ancient chinese scrolls during their times. (maybe all the rules and stories are just different fables retold and I just didn't know it?)
I found it comforting the way the book/letter ended in "oh my god this was such a long letter, but eh you'll learn all this by yourself as you grow anyways" (I look back and count these pages and see I have been most self-indulgent. These are all lessons you will learn on your own.) because sometimes it feels like these kind of books that teach life lessons always expect you to be perfect and do everything as they say the moment they tell you the rule, and it's discouraging knowing that you cannot do that. (the "BUT WAIT ONE MORE THING!! sorry" at the end is also very endearing for some reason haha)
I picked this book up because I saw the author's name and didn't expect it to be this, but I think it was still a somewhat enjoyable read and it broke me when I saw River Phoenix in the Special Thanks to Other Knights section :(((
Rules for a Knight is a letter from a father to his children, and because of that, I found it less condescending than most self-help-do-better-at-life sort of books. The examples/scenarios he used to explain each rule were all nice and thought out, even though some of the passages were direct lifts from old chinese fables or philosopher stories, which I found to be quite interesting and makes me genuinely wonder whether knights had the habit of reading ancient chinese scrolls during their times. (maybe all the rules and stories are just different fables retold and I just didn't know it?)
I found it comforting the way the book/letter ended in "oh my god this was such a long letter, but eh you'll learn all this by yourself as you grow anyways" (I look back and count these pages and see I have been most self-indulgent. These are all lessons you will learn on your own.) because sometimes it feels like these kind of books that teach life lessons always expect you to be perfect and do everything as they say the moment they tell you the rule, and it's discouraging knowing that you cannot do that. (the "BUT WAIT ONE MORE THING!! sorry" at the end is also very endearing for some reason haha)
I picked this book up because I saw the author's name and didn't expect it to be this, but I think it was still a somewhat enjoyable read and it broke me when I saw River Phoenix in the Special Thanks to Other Knights section :(((