“A Way of Being Free” by Ben Okri

One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21^st century!

Synopsis

From Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri: twelve of his most controversial non-fiction pieces form this collection on the theme of freedom.

Ranging from the personal to the analytical, covering subjects such as art, politics, storytelling and creativity, A Way of Being Free confirms Okri’s place as one of the most inspiring of contemporary writers.

Extract

This cannot be said often enough: it is the readers who make the book. A book unread is a story unlived. Writers have monumental responsibilities in the execution of their art, but readers also have great responsibilities. They have to make something valuable from their reading. Books are a dialogue between souls. All the untapped energies in great novels should not lie coiled in the pages in vain. All the agony and effort that goes into initiating this dialogue between souls should not be in vain. The reader should bring the best in themselves to meet the best in the writer’s work. There could be a greater potential for good in our lives the more one spirit of freedom dances with another. The energies or the serenity within books is meant, finally, to multiply the energies within the reader, or to deepen their serenity. The true destination of books is life, and the living.

The first joy, therefore, is the joy of service. Stories enrich the world. Stories can change lives. They have changed mine.