Snail & Boy: A Story About Peace, Love and Freedom
Gal Kleinman, 2014
Self Published
61 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781311803931 (Smashwords)
ASIN: B00JTR6KCW (Amazon digital)
Summary
Snail and Boy is a story about a boy who lost his family in the war. From the depths of despair, Boy overcomes his hardships, and discovers universal truths that give profound meaning to his life, and relationship to the world.
Boy's incredible transformation gets noticed by a very inquisitive snail, who eventually discovers Boy’s secrets, as they unfold, raising our awareness to deep life changing insights.
One day, Boy is astonished to discover a snail writing silvery letters on a wall, and from that moment on, a special relationship evolves between the two.
It is a story about love. It is a story about peace. It is a story about freedom. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1970
• Where—Jerusalem, Israel
• Education—N/A
• Currently—lives in Israel
Gal was born in Jerusalem, Israel, spending some of his childhood in the USA but eventually returning to Israel. This is Gal's first novel.
The son of a holocaust survivor, Gal has experienced war first hand. Due to his personal experiences, and realizing the futility of war, and the anguish it causes to all sides involved, Gal devotes his life to creating a new spirit of coexistence among the various peoples, religions and cultures within a single interconnected civilization. And inspiring feelings of compassion and understanding between human beings.
Gal is the founding director of a global educational project called Magical Moments Around the World. He is also the co-director of Education for Global Peace, which sets out to mainstream peace education in educational systems around the world. (From the author.)
Book Reviews
A niice little fable. This is a great little fable about how to live peaceably in the world. It is beautifully written and thought-provoking.
NM Reader
I really like how u can see a snails perspective as well as a boy and girls in this story. I also like all the proverbs and that this book promotes peace instead of war....[A] unique gem.
Angelica Dimeo "serenity20"
A worthwhile use of an hour.... This little book has many wonderful messages. So many, in fact, that to squeeze everything in, the author seemed "preachy" at times.... [T]he author...could easily make this into multiple books. For me, there could have been more story. All that said, I found this book thought provoking and inspirational, if rather heavy handed in all that it wanted to say to me.
jak717
[V]ery simplistic and yet the theme is one that we all need to adhere to... includ[ing]:
"If you want freedom, give freedom to someone else" (p. 45).
"If you want to be happy give happiness to someone else" (p. 49).
"Give peace and you will know peace" (p. 141).
Over all it is not a bad read, very quick and easy. I finished it in just over an hour.
Irishapples
Exploring possibilities for peace with two joyous and inquiring character.... This book is divided into short, easily read stories promoting peace. They also feature curiosity and empathy, joy, and freedom (peace's best friends). While the stories were rather didactic in some places, the overall reading experience is delightful.... My favorite quote: "Yes, this world needs a revolution. War is obsolete, and we must learn to live in peace" (p 24). I am ready for this revolution.
The Toucan
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think about the relationship between Snail & Boy?
2. Did you suspect the story would end the way it did?
3. In what ways did Girl contribute to Boy's transformation?
4. Has the story reminded you of a special connection you once felt toward animals and nature?
5. Movie time: who would you like to see play what part?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)